Nigeria’s Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar met with Nigerien counterpart Bakary Sangaré in Niamey on Wednesday in the first high-level diplomatic engagement between both nations since the 2023 military coup in Niger. The talks mark a potential thaw in relations that have remained frozen for nearly two years.
The closed-door discussions focused on reopening borders, restoring security cooperation, and reviving joint economic projects suspended after ECOWAS imposed sanctions on Niger’s military government. Minister Tuggar described the talks as “productive” in rebuilding trust, though no concrete agreements were announced.
Relations between the neighboring West African states collapsed following Niger’s July 2023 coup, when Nigeria – then leading ECOWAS – cut power supplies and threatened military intervention to restore ousted president Mohamed Bazoum. The tensions escalated further in 2024 when Niger joined Mali and Burkina Faso in forming the breakaway Alliance of Sahel States (AES), which recently imposed a 0.5% tariff on goods from ECOWAS nations.
Wednesday’s meeting signals both countries may be seeking to counter growing Russian influence in Niger while addressing severe economic losses from the prolonged border closures. Cross-border trade has plummeted from 1.3billion annually to under 200 million since the crisis began.
Key unresolved issues include the $1.9 billion Nigeria-Niger pipeline project, security coordination against Sahel militants, and the potential reintegration of AES states into ECOWAS. The talks did not address the status of detained ex-President Bazoum.
