At a signature ceremony on 20 July 2023, Minister of State for Economy and Finance of Benin, Romuald Wadagni and Director-General for International Partnerships at the European Commission, Koen Doens, launched a new EU budget support programme for Benin. The PAGODES programme or Programme d’appui à la gouvernance démocratique, économique et sociale au Bénin 2023-2025, is a programme in support of the Sustainable Development Goals demonstrating a close partnership between Benin and the EU. It aims to support economic, democratic and social governance reforms of the Government of Benin.
European Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jutta Urpilainen, said: “The budget support programme that we launch today illustrates what the EU’s Global Gateway investment strategy is all about: accelerating the green, digital and just transitions, while ensuring inclusive growth and increasing living standards for Beninese people. It will contribute significantly to the ongoing efforts of the Government of Benin to build stronger institutions and provide the enabling environment to deliver trusted, sustainable and human-centric infrastructure where people need it most.”
Minister of State for Economy and Finance of Benin, Romuald Wadagni, said: “I am pleased to praise not only the quality of our cooperation in recent years, but also the highly positive impact of the various implemented programmes on the living conditions of our population. With PAGODES, we put a particular emphasis on public finance reforms and good governance to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.”
The objective of this programme is to contribute to the sustainable and inclusive development of Benin and the reduction of poverty and inequality through financial and economic governance, the promotion of democratic governance, and inclusive growth. The programme is supported with funds of €63.75 million, from the European Union budget. This contribution will support the Beninese Government efforts to increase domestic revenue mobilisation, strengthen financial management, democratic governance and social protection for the most vulnerable. It will enable the Government to continue its efforts for the development of the country to maintain macroeconomic stability.
The budget support programme is part of the EU-Benin bilateral partnership, which is €255 million for the period 2021-2024, focusing on three priority areas: human development; green and digital growth; prosperous and safe society. These priorities also guide significant additional funding for Benin from EU financing instruments dedicated to specific themes or to Sub-Saharan Africa (the latter being endowed with a €10.2 billion budget for the period 2021-2027).
This programme in line with the priorities of the Beninese Government’s Programme of Actions (PAG II) for the period 2021-2026, which is based on three pillars:
- Strengthening democracy, the rule of law and good governance
- Further structural transformation of the economy
- Further improvements to Beninese peoples’ well-being.
Together, the European Union and Benin are working on a daily basis for a strong and ambitious partnership to promote peace, democracy and good governance, sustainable development for all, the universal values of the UN Charter, human rights and gender equality, and a fairer and more cohesive world. These are the values at the heart of the European Union. And these are values shared with Benin.
During Minister of State Wadagni and Director-General Doen’s meeting, both parties discussed Global Gateway further and the strengthening of the EU-Benin partnership, particularly on the green transition, the fight against terrorism and technical and vocational education and training. Further to this, both parties discussed specifically about Benin’s regional innovation hub, Sèmè City, in Ouidah.
