Benin - International cooperation

Benin was admitted to UN membership on 20 September 1960, and is a member of ECA and all the nonregional specialized agencies. It is a signatory of the Law of the Sea, and a member of the African Development Bank, ECOWAS, G-77, and the African Union. Relations with France, strained following the January 1977 attempted coup, improved markedly after 1981.

Benin has joined with Côte d'Ivoire, Niger, Burkina Faso, and Togo in the Conseil d'Entente, a loose grouping of likeminded states with a common loan guarantee fund. Benin, as a member of the Niger Basin Authority, cooperates with other riparian states of the Niger River in planning the further use and development of the river for fishing, transportation, flood control, and hydroelectricity. The Organization Commune Bénin-Niger regulates common problems of transportation and communications. Benin became a member of the Association of African Petroleum Producers in 1987. Benin is a signatory to the Lomé Convention.