ECOWAS Appoints Togo and Senegal Leaders as Facilitators to Persuade Sahel States to Reverse Withdrawal

Politics

Monday, 08 July 2024 17:05

ECOWAS Appoints Togo and Senegal Leaders as Facilitators to Persuade Sahel States to Reverse Withdrawal

(Togo First) - Faure Gnassingbé and Diomaye Faye, the Presidents of Togo and Senegal have been appointed as co-facilitators for ECOWAS to work with the leaders of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger. Several months ago, these three countries began withdrawing from ECOWAS to form the Alliance of Sahel States (AES).

They were assigned the mission at the 65th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Heads of State and Government Conference on July 7, 2024, in Abuja, Nigeria. Gnassingbé and Faye have been tasked to persuade the AES leaders to reverse their decision to leave ECOWAS.

The AES was established on July 6, 2024, after a prolonged crisis with ECOWAS. This was after the latter condemned the leaders of Burkina Faso, Niger, and Mali for seizing power by force.

Previously, Faure Gnassingbé played a crucial role in negotiations between ECOWAS and the military authorities in these countries, helping to resolve issues such as the release of 49 Ivorian soldiers detained in Mali and the son of Niger's former president, Mohamed Bazoum.

The mission trusted to Presidents Faye and Gnassingbé will be challenging given that the AES leaders are focused on deepening their new alliance. The co-facilitators' success will be crucial in determining the future of regional cooperation in West Africa.

Esaïe Edoh

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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.

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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.

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