Border dispute agreement ratified

Foreign Ministers of Niger and Benin ratified on Thursday instruments of a joint agreement to resolve a border dispute at the International Court of Justice, new agencies reported. No dates for proceedings have yet been announced. The agreement was signed in Benin in June 2001 while the ceremony to exchange the ratified instruments took in Niger's capital, Niamey. News agencies quoted the Foreign Ministers of Benin and Niger, Antoine Kolawale Idji and Aissatou Mindaoudou, as saying both countries would abide by the verdict of the International Court of Justice. The decade-old dispute is over the precise border of the two countries on Lete Island, on the River Niger and the Mekrou Region. Both countries claim ownership of the island.