Benin - Nigeria: Relations between two countries improve as exports pick up - video Dailymotion

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00:00 Nigeria's President Bola Chinubu fully reopened the country's borders to goods from Benin.

00:06 Yet despite his decision, the trade of second-hand cars in Kotonou remains slow,

00:12 like this seller who imports vehicles from the US, Canada and Europe.

00:18 Before the trade ban, Nigerians made up 90% of his clientele.

00:24 "It's as if the border is still closed.

00:32 Nigerian customers used to buy all kinds of vehicles, whether they were four or eight-cylinder

00:36 ones, they used to buy everything."

00:39 Beninese sellers in Ogolo, a small village along the Nigerian border, mainly relied on

00:44 exporting Asian rice, until Nigeria banned the trade in August 2019 to combat smuggling.

00:52 Today, sales between the two countries still remain stagnant despite the ban lift.

01:00 "Now I buy rice on credit and sell it at retail to be able to get by."

01:13 Resuming the free movement of all goods was expected to help boost Benin's economy,

01:18 which still relies heavily on Nigeria.

01:21 But this dependency is proving to be detrimental, as Nigeria's currency has depreciated by

01:28 almost 35% due to the coronavirus pandemic.

01:34 "The problem for us in Benin is that even our local products, such as cassava, gari

01:40 and other staples, and even locally produced rice that were accepted for trade within ECOWAS

01:46 countries cannot be sold in Nigeria anymore.

01:49 This is concerning for the Beninese economy."

01:58 The diplomatic relationship between Benin and Nigeria has nevertheless improved.

02:03 The two presidents, Patrice Talon and Boloatinu Bu, have pledged to work on restoring economic

02:09 cooperation between the two countries.

02:12 [BLANK_AUDIO]

Benin - Nigeria: Relations between two countries improve as exports pick up

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