President Gnassingbé defends Togo’s interests at the COP28 in Dubai

Economic governance

Monday, 04 December 2023 17:35

President Gnassingbé defends Togo’s interests at the COP28 in Dubai

(Togo First) - Togo’s President Faure Gnassingbé has been in Dubai since November 29 with many other world leaders for the ongoing COP28 summit. The event started on November 30 and will end on December 12, 2023.

As soon as he arrived, Gnassingbé met his Emirati counterpart, Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed El Nayan. They reviewed their countries' bilateral relations and discussed possible cooperation opportunities in strategic sectors.

Togo has its own office and pavilion at the event’s venue. There, the West African delegation seeks new partners and showcases various projects and initiatives in agroecological practices and water management. The delegation also highlights the country's policy of building a climate-resilient, low-carbon economy.

The COP28 offers African nations a chance to defend their interests, regarding climate change and climate justice. This year, these countries call out polluting countries on their 2009 commitment to provide $100 billion a year in climate financing up to 2020. They also demand more support to boost their clean energy output–wind and solar especially– to meet their needs. Almost half of the continent’s population, 600 million people (out of 1.4 billion), does not have electricity.

Other issues Africa brings to the table include introducing a carbon tax and restructuring the international financial system for fairer access to the investments needed for sustainable development. African countries also want to be less dependent on fossil fuels and boost local processing of raw commodities.

REFORMS OVERVIEW

STARTING A BUSINESS (more info)

At the fifteenth position, worldwide, and first in Africa, under the Starting a Business index of the 2020 Doing Business ranking, Togo sustains its reformative dynamics with more reforms….

ENFORCING CONTRACTS (more info)

Compared to some years ago when it was one of the lowest rankers under the Doing Business’ Enforcing Contracts indicator, Togo, leveraging many efforts to improve its business climate, was able to jump significantly on the index in the recent years... .

CONTRACT EXECUTION (more info)

Creation of special chambers of commerce for small debts • Creation of chambers of commerce at the Court of Appeal • Civil and commercial cases now handled by distinct clerks • Establishment of commercial courts in Lomé and Kara • Lawyers and bailiffs now have access to the FORSETI COMMERCIAL platform • A maximum period of 100 days was fixed to settle a commercial dispute .

TRADING ACROSS BORDERS (more info)

In comparison to previous years,Togo has significantly improved its ranking under the“Trading across borders” indicator by adopting multiple reforms that focus mainly on the digitization and reduction in delays, for import and export procedures related to import and export.

In comparison to previous years, Togo has significantly improved its ranking on the “Trading across borders” index by adopting multiple reforms that focus mainly on the digitalization and reduction in delays, for import and export procedures related to import and export.

CONSTRUCTION PERMIT (more info)

After moving from the 133rd to 127th place under the 2020 Doing Business’ construction permit index, Togo intends to reiterate this feat in the coming edition of the global ranking. To this end, it has introduced this year multiple reforms.

GETTING ELECTRICITY (more info)

Over the past two years, Togo’s ranking under the Doing Business’ Getting electricity and water indicator has increased consistently. Owing this performance to multiple reforms aimed at making it easier for businesses to access power and water, Lomé plans to introduce even more reforms this year to keep up its improvements.

REGISTERING A PROPERTY (more info)

Out of all the 'Doing Business’ indicators, Property Registration is where Togo has improved the most since 2018. Indeed, after spending years in the lowest part of this ranking, the country now seeks to beat Rwanda which is the best performer on this index in Africa. To do so, Lomé has been introducing many reforms, with the latest batch implemented this year.

PUBLIC PROCUREMENT (more info)

From professionalization to digitization, through legislative regulations, Togo’s public procurement framework is constantly being modernized. Several reforms have been implemented to improve the sector much to the benefit of the private sector, which is the focus of the National Development Plan.

PAYING TAXES AND DUTIES (more info)

To improve its business environment, Togo introduced some important reforms related to the payment of tax and duties. From the replacement of some taxes to the cancellation of others through exemptions, the country has only one objective: offer the most attractive tax framework to investors and economic operators. To achieve this, the authorities relied on digitization.