In the West African sub-region, Benin is classified as the first country respecting the principles and rules of free trade, movement of people and goods.

In view of the results of the 2019 International Budget Partnership (IBP) survey, a rating institution partner of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank , Benin is ranked first among French-speaking African countries in terms of budget transparency.

Beini was the first country in Africa to issue bonds in Euro.

most countries in Africa, and the rest of the world, do their bonds in dollars, because the dollar market is the market that offers more money to raise.

And so not to take risks, everyone goes to the dollar market. But in Benin, the Head of State wished that in the desire to control the risks, that the operation be carried out in Euro (Eurobond). It was a success with a subscription rate of 250%, the minister stressed.

A feat that, he noted, has been praised by several financial institutions including the International Monetary Fund (IMF). This means that Benin retains a "credibility in the mysteries of international finances".

The debt reprofiling operation carried out by the government with partners in this case major insurance companies in 2019, has given Benin notoriety on the domestic and international market. Having guaranteed its loans, Benin began to raise funds, to replace expensive debt with much longer and cheaper debt.

Moreover, the minister mentioned, at the last Annual Meetings of the World Bank and the IMF, Benin was distinguished for its good management of sovereign public debt.

For Mr. Wadagni, today, on a global level, when major international financial institutions seek to take models in Africa, they think of Benin. This explains the fact that under the impetus of Germany and the European Union, the G20 launched the Compact with Africa (CwA) initiative which made Benin the very first country selected to participate.

The CwA is an initiative that aims to support the State in making reforms in order to expand the fabric of the private sector and attract foreign investment. Subsequently, the United Nations, in partnership with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), decided to select five countries at the global level to participate in the Costing initiative, which also focuses on the costing of the SDGs. Here too, Benin was chosen with Rwanda as the only two countries in Africa.

The Minister facing media professionals

Beini whose Minister of Economy and Finance holds the palm of best Minister of Finance awarded by the Afarching Development Bank  (AfDB) at its annual meetings, wants to get to grips with the continent's shining economies.

Benin middle-income country

In 2019, due to economic reforms, Benin recorded the first increase in its score since 2008 after the evaluation of National Policies and Institutions (CPIA) organized by the World Bank.

The Beninese economy shows some resilience.

The minister recognized the need to deal with Nigeria, which remains a large market: hence the Efforts of the Beninese government to normalize trade between the two sister countries.

But despite the exogenous shocks coming from Nigeria (devaluation of the Naira, closure of the borders), Benin continues to hold. Which was not obvious years ago. With economic growth among the highest in the WAEMU, financial ratings by independent agencies and the IMF, the performance of the Beninese economy under Patrice Talon is well established, he said.

Moreover with the health crisis related to Covid-19, several countries have seen their financial rating downgraded but Benin rated by Standard & Poor's, Bloomfield ... has kept its positions.

The consolidation of public finances and resource mobilization inevitably lead to an increase in national wealth.

This led to the rebasing of national accounts, an operation to reassess macroeconomic aggregates taking into account new sources of wealth. An operation that is not unprecedented in international finance. In Africa, several countries such as Nigeria, South Africa etc. do it.

On July 1, 2020, in its latest ranking, the World Bank raised Benin to the rank of middle-income countries, while the country was previously in the category of low-income countries. This ranking opens up new opportunities in the country where the vulnerability of the citizen to poverty is very low. Moreover, the United Nations in its ranking of the Human Development Index (HDI) confirms this with the position of Benin, first in the WAEMU.

"The country will not rest on its laurels, the course will be maintained" in accordance with the ambitions of President Patrice Talon, promised Mr. Wadagni.