Benin and Guinea Equatorial are the first African nations with which the Dominican Republic has established formal diplomatic relations. The protocols were signed by Minister of Foreign Relations Eduardo Latorre and visiting Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Benin, Kolawole A. Idji, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Planning of Guinea Equatorial Santiago Nsobeya Efuman Nohana. The statesmen of both countries visited the DR on occasion of the II ACP Summit. Benin obtained its independence from France in 1960 and was known as Dahomey until it changed its name to Benin in 1975. It has 112,622 square kilometers and its capital is Portonovo. It has a population of six million people; its official language is French. Its President is Mathieu Kerekou. Guinea Equatorial is located in the west of Africa. It has 28,051 kilometers, its capital is Makabo, and it has a population of 465,746, and is the only African country where Spanish is the official language. Guinea Equatorial became independent from Spain in 1968. Its President is Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo.
