The arrival of a multisectoral Algerian delegation at the Benin Deal Room 2026, held in Cotonou from September 16 to 18, has reignited a broader conversation about the future of African economic integration. For Algiers, the event was a chance to move beyond diplomatic declarations and convert its continental outreach into tangible business partnerships spanning pharmaceuticals, energy, infrastructure and public enterprises. Yet the enthusiasm surrounding the Cotonou gathering has also exposed an uncomfortable question that now dominates regional debate: how can South-South trade deepen when some West African borders remain shut? The still-closed frontier between Niger and Benin, despite on-and-off talks, stands as the most visible contradiction to the vision of a self-reliant African economy.
A showcase of continental ambition in Cotonou
For three days, the Beninese economic capital operated as a marketplace for investors eyeing the country’s growth prospects. The Benin Deal Room 2026, staged under the auspices of the Beninese government, brought together institutional investors, development finance institutions, project developers, strategic companies and public officials around a pipeline of more than twenty projects.
Announced financing needs ranged between $2 billion and $3 billion, covering sectors as diverse as agro-industry, manufacturing, infrastructure, logistics and energy. The stated goal was not merely to host another economic forum but to connect capital directly with projects deemed mature enough to yield concrete transactions.
That logic is precisely what gave the Algerian presence its significance. A national multisectoral delegation, including representatives from the pharmaceutical industry, the energy and renewable energy sectors, as well as heads of public groups such as the CEO of Saidal and the head of the Algerian Electricity and Gas Industries Company (SAIEG), a Sonelgaz subsidiary, took part in the proceedings.
For Algiers, the stakes go well beyond ceremonial representation. The aim is to identify markets, forge industrial alliances and nurture partnerships capable of anchoring Algerian firms durably in West Africa.
From political diplomacy to economic diplomacy
This approach reflects a significant shift in Algeria’s African policy. After long prioritising political, diplomatic and security cooperation, Algiers is now working to strengthen the economic dimension of its presence on the continent.
Benin’s context is particularly conducive to this effort. The country intends to accelerate its industrialisation and leverage its geographic position, notably through the Port of Cotonou and the Glo-Djigbé Industrial Zone, to develop local processing, logistics and regional value chains.
For Algerian companies, this momentum can open doors in several fields.
Pharmaceuticals form a first axis. The expertise accumulated by Algeria’s drug industry can be extended into West Africa through exports, distribution and, eventually, local production and technology transfers.
Electricity represents another strategic sector. The know-how of Sonelgaz and its subsidiaries in generation, transmission, distribution and energy solutions can address the needs of a continent facing a substantial energy access deficit. Renewables also open a vast field of cooperation, particularly in Sahelian territories where solar power can serve as a major electrification lever.
The challenge is to move from a classic commercial relationship — selling Algerian products to African customers — to a more ambitious logic: producing, investing, training and transferring skills in Africa.
The Niger paradox: cooperating without moving
But this ambition runs into a geopolitical reality that transcends relations between Algiers and Cotonou.
Niger is today one of Algeria’s strategic partners. The two countries have strengthened their cooperation in security, transport and energy. In June 2026, Algeria notably launched construction work on its section of the Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline, a project intended to link Nigeria to Europe via Niger and Algeria.
In August, energy cooperation was further illustrated by the launch, in northern Niger, of drilling operations at the Kafra oil block by Sonatrach, in the presence of the Algerian and Nigerien prime ministers. The project is presented as potentially supporting, in time, road infrastructure, logistics, energy and trade between southern Algeria and the Agadez region.
On the security front, Algiers even went as far as providing military support to Niger in August 2026, at the request of the authorities in Niamey.
And yet, a few hundred kilometres to the west, the border between Niger and Benin remains closed.
This closure, inherited from the crisis triggered by the July 2023 coup, now stands as one of the main contradictions of regional integration. Talks initiated in 2026 between Cotonou and Niamey produced progress on security, transit and certain economic and legal aspects, but no firm reopening timetable had been confirmed by late September.
For Niamey, security concerns remain central. But the situation carries an economic cost: goods destined for Niger from the Port of Cotonou must take alternative routes, with added delays and expenses.
A closed border at the heart of an integration ambition
The Niger-Benin case raises a fundamental question: can South-South cooperation truly be spoken of without fluid borders, transport and trade?
The paradox is all the more striking because Benin and Niger have an interest in preserving their economic ties. Cotonou has historically been an important maritime outlet for landlocked countries of the West African hinterland. For Niger, access to Beninese port infrastructure is a key element of its supply chain.
The border closure thus turns a bilateral problem into a regional issue. It weakens logistics chains, drives up transport costs and reduces companies’ ability to plan their markets across several countries.
For Algeria, which seeks precisely to expand its trade with Africa, this situation is a warning. Geographic diversification of exports cannot be separated from the construction of secure, functional corridors.
Algeria holds a major asset: its geographic depth. The development of trans-Saharan axes, the Algiers-Lagos road and the Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline can help bring North Africa closer to West Africa. But these infrastructures will only deliver their full effect if they operate within a regional environment that allows regular movement of goods, capital and skills.
Toward a new generation of South-South partnerships
The Algerian presence at the Benin Deal Room 2026 thus takes on a broader dimension. It signals a desire to build African cooperation based less on declarations than on identifiable projects, investments and shared economic interests.
This is probably where the real challenge of South-South cooperation lies. It is no longer just about African countries trading more with one another, but about jointly building African value chains: producing medicines in Africa, developing electrical equipment in Africa, processing raw materials on the continent, financing African infrastructure and creating African jobs.
Benin wants to attract capital. Algeria is looking for new markets and wants to leverage its industrial capacities. Niger possesses considerable energy and mining resources and constitutes a strategic space between North and West Africa. These interests could be complementary.
But economic complementarity requires a precondition: political trust.
The progressive reopening of borders, particularly between Niger and Benin, would in this respect be more than a bilateral gesture. It would send a signal in favour of an Africa capable of overcoming its political partitions to prioritise its common economic interests.
Algeria at its African crossroads
By taking part in the Cotonou gathering, Algiers appears to have chosen to no longer view the African market as a simple natural extension of its exports, but as a strategic space for investment and partnership.
The challenge now will be to turn contacts made in the Deal Rooms into contracts, industrial facilities and sustainable projects.
Benin can be a gateway. Niger can be a strategic corridor. The Sahel can become a space of complementarities. But without movement, without interconnected infrastructure and without political stability, ambitions will remain fragmented.
The message from Cotonou is therefore twofold: Africa now attracts African capital itself; the remaining task is to ensure that borders do not become the limits of this new ambition.