The U.S. pop star became a citizen under a new law in Benin aimed at descendants of enslaved people from sub-Saharan Africa.

The Grammy-winning performer's acquisition of citizenship at a ceremony in the city of Cotonou is part of a broader initiative by Benin to attract the Black diaspora, acknowledge the country's role in the transatlantic slave trade and promote tourism focused on slavery-related sites of remembrance.

US Grammy winner Ciara becomes one of the first public figures to gain Benin citizenship under My Afro Origins Law.