On December 20, 2012, Dr. Aurele M. Houngbedji, Director of the Investment Presidential Council of Republic of Benin visited the Turkic American Alliance. TAA’s President Dr. Faruk Taban talked about TAA’s 2011 and 2012 activities and projects and introduced the newly established Rethink Institute in Washington DC. Dr. Houngbedji mentioned that he had already met with the President of Turkey, Abdullah Gul, during their trip to Turkey with Benin’s President Yayi Boni and they have discussed business relations between Turkey and Benin. He pointed out that Turkey has recently opened an embassy in Benin. Turkey and Benin are also working on abolishing the visa regime between the two countries. The expectation is that Turkey and Benin are set to establish very close trade and diplomatic relations in the very near future.
Benin’s has an agriculture-based economy. It is a major cotton producing country. Since its transition to a democratic form of government in 1990, Benin has undergone a dramatic economic recovery and had experienced a remarkable economic growth. Benin is a member of ECOWAS and its trading partners are the EU member states, Brazil, China and Japan.
