Economic, Military and Agricultural Cooperation : Washington and Brazil renew their support to Lomé

Economic governance
Wednesday, 27 April 2022 17:23
Economic, Military and Agricultural Cooperation : Washington and Brazil renew their support to Lomé

(Togo First) - The new ambassadors of the USA and Brazil to Togo, respectively Elizabeth Fitzsimmons and Nei Futuro Bitencourt, presented their credentials to the Togolese Head of State, President Faure Gnassingbé, on Tuesday 26 April 2022.

On this occasion, they reviewed their bilateral cooperation with Lome and discussed the opportunities for political and economic cooperation.

Economy, good governance, and security: Top priorities for the U.S.

"The United States would like to support Togo's growth," said the American diplomat who believes that cooperation with Togo must be bolstered in the educational, economic, military, and political fields.

"We talked about the deep and solid partnerships between our two countries, I am sure we will strengthen the economic, cultural, educational, military, and political ties between our two countries. I hope that Togo will become a logistics hub and a digital hub in West Africa, with the support of the U.S.," she added.

Besides the economic and good governance fields, the Biden administration should strengthen its support in the security area, given security issues that currently plague the Sahel and the Gulf of Guinea. Togo, let’s emphasize, recently announced it was among countries in the region that will cooperate with the U.S. as part of a multi-year conflict prevention mission in Africa. 

Also, in April 2021, Washington pledged CFA24.7 billion to Togo, for various development projects.

Brazil-Togo: A cooperation focused on agriculture and military

For his part, Brazil’s ambassador stressed that between the two countries, there is a “very important cooperation in the agricultural sector, especially cotton.” Indeed, under the Cotton 4+ project, a research and development project, Brazil cooperates with Togo, and other countries including Chad, Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso. This project, which produced “major, concrete benefits in Togo,” is the spearhead of the Brazil-Togo cooperation in the agricultural sector.

Several research centers, new high-yield seeds, staff training, and rural expansionism, are some of these project’s benefits, said Nei Futuro Bitencourt.

The Brazilian official also voiced his country’s readiness to further strengthen its cooperation with Togo, not only in the agricultural research area but also in others such as education, military training, and security, especially in northern Togo, close to the Sahel.

“We have a new forage corridor project that will help mitigate tensions induced by transhumance in countries located in the Sahel and Northern Sahel regions,” the Southern American ambassador said. 

Regarding cooperation in the security sector,  Futuro Bitencourt referred to members of the Togolese army who are trained in Brazilian academies. “We want to push this further, and do more. There are many common issues that Brazil and Togo share.”

Brazil is one of the countries where Togo seeks private partners to partly finance its development. Before the pandemic, the West African country was even planning a Togo-Brazil Economic Forum.

After the U.S., which is the world’s biggest economy, Brazil is the second economic power in the Americas. However, worldwide, it is the 11th economic power. In 2017, trade between this country and Togo was valued at $97 million.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

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