The Director General of the Investment Promotion Centre of Côte d’Ivoire (CEPICI), Mrs. Solange Amichia, and the Director General of the Investment and Export Promotion Agency of Benin (APIEx), Mr. Éric Akouté, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Wednesday, January 21, 2026, aimed at strengthening and promoting a complementary partnership for the benefit of investors from both countries.
According to Mrs. Amichia, the signing of this protocol reflects the willingness of both countries “to go further together” through the pooling of expertise and the sharing of best practices. This agreement also reflects the commitment of the Ivorian and Beninese authorities to strengthen regional economic cooperation and to build a business environment that is more attractive, more competitive, and more innovative.
It also constitutes an instrument for creating a secure, structured, and sustainable framework for cooperation, particularly to facilitate and secure cross-border investments, encourage joint projects and public-private partnerships, and strengthen the exchange of information, best practices, and expertise.
The agreement also aims to support Beninese and Ivorian investors in their respective procedures and to contribute to better sub-regional economic integration, in line with the objectives of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
“The establishment of this framework will send a strong signal to investors, who will now be able to approach our respective agencies and find interlocutors ready to assist them, advise them, and facilitate the implementation of their investment projects,” Mrs. Amichia assured.
For his part, the Director General of APIEx-Benin considered that this cooperation, based on an understanding of local realities, the sharing of experiences between comparable economies, and the search for solutions adapted to the traditional, economic, and social contexts of both countries, represents an opportunity to exchange and share information on their respective economic and industrial capacities.
It also aims to provide the necessary facilities to business leaders and to mutually assist in identifying suitable partners interested in investment and technical cooperation.
“This framework for collaboration will enable us to optimize the impact of our respective interventions and improve the visibility of our offers and services. It reflects our conviction that coordinated action by our institutions is essential for investment promotion,” emphasized Mr. Akouté.
Côte d’Ivoire and Benin maintain stable and friendly diplomatic relations, based on their shared membership in regional organizations, notably the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) and ECOWAS.