Benin

In terms of bilateral cooperation, Luxembourg’s Development Cooperation continued to finance two programmes via delegated cooperation agreements. This includes the construction and fitting out of agricultural technical high schools (EUR 3 million, with the Agence Française de Développement (AFD)) and the programme “Support for the management of the Mono delta biosphere reserve and the development of the Bouche du Roy marine protected area” (EUR 3 million, with the Belgian development agency Enabel), which is a programme led by the Delegation of the European Union to Cotonou. In 2023, LuxDev (Lux-Development) began formulating four new projects that it will implement in partnership with national authorities and other organisations with specific expertise:

School of tourism, hospitality and catering professions (2023-2026; EUR 17 million), in partnership with the Luxembourg School of Tourism and Hospitality (Diekirch) and the Lausanne School of Hospitality, the Swiss NGO Helvetas and the NGO EcoBénin;

Agricultural and rural vocational training (2024-2027; EUR 10.2 million), in partnership with the Belgian agency Enabel and the Global Green Growth Institute;

Inclusive and innovative finance (2024-2027; EUR 10 million), in partnership with the Luxembourgish NGO Appui au développement autonome (ADA) and the German agency Gesellschaft für internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ);

Digital and digitalisation (2024-2027; EUR 8.5 million), in partnership with the Luxembourg House of Cybersecurity.

A multilateral programme with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in the area of health and sex education (EUR 4.7 million) is also in progress (2023-2025). In 2023, Luxembourg’s Development Cooperation also started work on identifying a form of support in the field of children’s rights with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

Luxembourg’s first emergency support to Benin started in 2023, in response to the deterioration of living conditions in the north of the country. It was a contribution of EUR 157,590 to an activity run by Handicap International Luxembourg to help improve living conditions for the most vulnerable populations affected by insecurity and forced displacement in northern Benin.

Six Luxembourgish NGDOs are active in Benin, four of which operate under framework agreements (Fondation Raoul Follereau, Pharmaciens sans Frontières, SOS Faim and SOS Villages d’Enfants Monde) and two in the form of co-financed projects (Aide au Bénin, Iles de Paix Luxembourg).