Togo has made significant progress relative to the threshold program of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) which the country kicked off two years ago. This is according to the Board of Directors of the Millennium Challenge Account-Togo (MCA-Togo), which held its fifth ordinary meeting last October.

According to Bougonou N'gname Jeanne, Managing Director of MCA-Togo, the two projects launched under the Threshold program are 71% and 100% complete–The first project is the ICT project and the second is the 100% for the Land Reforms for Increased Agricultural Productivity (LRAP) project. Regarding the financial execution rate, it was at 21% at the end of September 2023.

In detail, the ICT project aims to improve access to high-quality, affordable ICT services in Togo, by stimulating competition between service providers. The project benefits from a $20.5 million financing.  The second project, the LRAP, aims to improve land tenure security to increase investment in the agricultural sector, through technical assistance based on a two-pronged approach to improve the application of the Land and Property Code.  It has been allocated $8 million. 

Despite progress made on the project, the MCA-Togo Board seeks to focus more on its MCC Threshold Monetary and Evaluation policy. The latter is a tool that tracks and evaluates the program and related progress, goals, risks, roles, and responsibilities of various actors involved, and overall aims to help the Board achieve its goals. Togo, it should be emphasized, was declared eligible for the MCC Compact Program last December.

Esaïe Edoh

A delegation of Togolese businesspeople is currently in Shangai, China. Led by the Chamber of Trade and Industry of Togo (CCI-Togo) and the Centre Togolais des Expositions et Foires de Lomé (CETEF), the group attends the ongoing China International Import Expo 2023.

According to the CCI-Togo, Togo has a pavilion where the delegation exhibits tropical products and artwork, among others. 

The fair also features B2B meetings in which Togolese operators are actively involved, helping to establish fruitful business relationships. An economic day dedicated to Togo is scheduled for November 9, providing an ideal opportunity to further promote Togo as a destination for Chinese investors.

Launched in 2018, CCI-Togo aims to promote China's domestic market to foreign companies and stimulate domestic consumption. The initiative, backed by Chinese President Xi Jinping, has already attracted thousands of foreign companies. This year, the fair runs until November 10. 

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

Togo joined the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), an intergovernmental organization whose role is to facilitate the ecological transition of its member countries towards a green economy. The West African nation became the organization’s 48th member State at its last assembly.

"The GGGI is delighted to welcome Togo as our 48th member state! Together, we embrace a shared vision of a resilient, low-carbon world, promoting strong, inclusive, and sustainable growth for all", the Seoul-based institution posted on X.

??GGGI is thrilled to welcome #Togo as our 48th #MemberState! Together, we embrace a shared vision of a low-carbon resilient world, fostering strong, inclusive, and sustainable growth for all. ? Let's embark on this #green journey together! pic.twitter.com/lajYXcCfhc

— GGGI (@gggi_hq) November 4, 2023

Joining the GGGI should enable Togo to increase its actions in favor of environmental sustainability, taking advantage of the organization’s mechanisms and expertise.

Last May, the Togolese Parliament unanimously authorized the country's adhesion to this institution.

Also, a few months ago, Lomé adopted a bill devoted to the fight against climate change.

By Elizabeth A.N. Fitzsimmons, Ambassador of the United States of America to Togo

At the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit in December 2022, President Biden said "The United States is fully committed to Africa."

The future lies in Africa. One example is its young population: the median age in Togo is seventeen and a half. By 2050, one in four of the world's inhabitants will be in Africa. What happens in Africa will have an impact on the rest of the world, and we want to work together to ensure that it is promising, safe, and prosperous.

Our stories have always been linked. Today, we know that our success, the success of all our fellow citizens, on both sides of the Atlantic, is inextricably connected. Our African partners, including Togo, play a central role in the U.S. approach to trade, which is accessible, fair, competitive, and resilient. We must work together to protect the dignity of all workers and the sustainability of our planet and seek excellence within institutions and companies.

The African Growth and Opportunity Act, or AGOA, is a key pillar in realizing this vision of shared prosperity. Since it was signed, over two decades ago, AGOA has impacted millions of Africans. By offering duty-free access to the U.S. market for over 6,800 different products, the act has helped create jobs and new economic opportunities, particularly for women and young people. If you run a business here in Togo, I urge you to approach the Togo Chamber of Commerce for information on ways to leverage AGOA to increase your sales, train more employees, and improve your community.

AGOA illustrates how we can use trade as a force for good. To maintain their eligibility, countries must respect several fundamental values typical of free and fair societies: the rule of law, respect for human rights, the fight against corruption, and the protection of workers' rights.

AGOA is intended to be a transformative tool for bolstering inclusive prosperity in sub-Saharan Africa. Policy tools like AGOA are meant to be used, tested, and refined over time, which is the purpose of the AGOA Forum (Ed. note: this year, the event was hosted in Johannesburg, South Africa, from November 2 to 4).

Each year, the U.S. Trade Representative and the trade ministers of each AGOA country meet to take stock of their joint work and identify opportunities to do more. This meeting is an opportunity to assess current achievements and, perhaps most importantly, to discuss how we can improve AGOA to better serve more Africans and Americans.

Also, the Forum gathers African and U.S. government officials, civil society and labor leaders, as well as private sector investors, focused on a common goal: leveraging trade to create better opportunities.

In Togo, an impact of AGOA is that it helped the country lay the foundations for a modern textile industry, thanks to preferential access to the US market. Last month, we had the pleasure of witnessing the first shipment of clothing exports from the Plateforme Industrielle d'Adétikopé (PIA) to the United States under a contract with Children's Place. I hope we can find more opportunities for local companies to export high-quality, high-value products to the United States.

This is why the Biden-Harris administration fully supports the renewal of AGOA, as the benefits of the legislation are set to expire in 2025. The U.S. Congress has the power to reauthorize this law, and we are committed to working closely with Congress throughout the process to ensure that this legislation is effective and relevant. Another sign of the U.S. government's commitment to increasing business opportunities for small businesses is the upcoming visit to Togo of U.S. Cabinet Secretary and Special Advisor, Isabel Guzman, head of the Small Business Administration. She is the voice in President Biden's cabinet for America's 33 million small businesses, and from Sunday, November 5, to Wednesday, November 8, she will visit Lomé, Togo, and Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, to promote women's entrepreneurship and international trade opportunities for small businesses.

This is a moment of privilege in Togo's economic engagement with the United States, and I look forward to a robust and forward-looking conversation at the AGOA Forum and beyond."

Togo and Ghana signed on November 1 a free-roaming agreement in Accra, Ghana. The deal was inked by Michel Yaovi Galley, director general of Togo’s telecom watchdog, ARCEP, and Anokye Joe, his counterpart from the National Communications Authority (NCA) of Ghana.

In a press release, the ARCEP attributed the signing to months of talks between the regulators and representatives of mobile operators active in both countries–MTN, Airtel, Vodafone, for Ghana, and Moov Africa Togo and Togo Cellulaire.

The deal suppresses roaming charges between Ghana and Togo, and cell phone users in both countries will soon be able to communicate at lower cost, without having to change their SIM card. Indeed, cell phone operators in both countries have decided to lower rates for Togolese travelers visiting Ghana and vice-versa.

In detail, call reception is now free for the first thirty (30) consecutive days for Ghanaian customers visiting Togo, and for Togolese customers staying in Ghana, whereas it is currently billed at CFA240 per minute with Togo Cellulaire and CFA207 with Moov Africa Togo.

Calls will cost CFA8.67 per minute, compared with CFA279 with Togo Cellulaire and CFA550 with Moov Africa Togo before. The cost for internet data has been capped at CFA1.6 per MB, against CFA8,400 on Togocel and CFA200 (maximum) on Moov, at present.

The deal will come into effect on March 1, 2024, according to the ARCEP’s press release. 

It should be noted that Togo recently sealed a similar deal with Benin.

Esaïe Edoh 

Togo currently hosts the 9th edition of the Annual Review of Community Reforms, Policies, Programs and Projects of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) kicked off in Lomé on November 02, 2023, and ends on November 6, 2023. 

For this evaluation session, 131 texts as well as five community projects and programs will be assessed by experts from the WAEMU. The long-term goal of the exercise is to improve living conditions of the Community’s people.

Last year, the annual review revealed significant progress in reform implementation. Kanan Bouhari, Permanent Secretary of the ECOWAS Unit, representing the Minister of Economy and Finance, underlined the ongoing commitment of governments to pursue structural reforms in various areas.

In Togo, projects backed by the WAEMU “concern agriculture, husbandry, craftsmanship, energy, industry, etc.,” said Traoré Abasso, director of public finances and domestic taxing. These include a regional water development program, structuring and development programs in several agricultural sectors, and construction work on a livestock market in Tsévié and another in Cinkasse.

Togo's High Authority for the Prevention and Fight against Corruption and Related Offences, HAPLUCIA, completed a nationwide campaign to raise the awareness of elected representatives and municipal executives on the prevention and fight against corruption and related offenses. Launched on May 25, 2023, in Lomé, the campaign ended in Atakpamé (Plateaux region).

The campaign’s closing ceremony was chaired by the deputy minister of territorial development, Edjeba Essomanam.

Overall, the operation reached 2,200 people, including elected representatives and managers from Togo's 117 municipalities.

The campaign was financially backed by Germany, through its cooperation agency, GIZ, as part of the “Good Financial Governance” project.

South Korean Prime Minister, Han Duck-Soo, was recently in Togo on a prospection mission. The two-day meeting was aimed at bolstering cooperation between Lomé and Seoul.

Duck-Soo arrived in the Togolese capital on Monday, October 30, and on the same day met with Victoire Tomegah-Dogbe, Prime Minister of Togo. The two delegations, on that occasion, reviewed their nearly 60-year relationship and looked at ways to deepen it, especially in the agriculture, security, energy, digital, education, and professional training sectors. 

"The current government wants to share the experience it has acquired, over the last 70 years, regarding the help, support, and backing of the international community that has enabled Korea to go from being one of the poorest countries in the world to becoming the Korea it is today," Han Duck-Soo said.

During his stay, the Asian official visited the Port of Lomé, which according to him “can serve as a gateway to West Africa".

He then went to the Institut de Formation en Alternance pour le Développement dedicated to building trades (IFAD-Bâtiment) in Adidogomé, as well as the IFAD Energies Renouvelable (IFAD-ENR) site, which is being completed. "At the Vocational Training Institute, I was able to see the efforts being made to develop local industries and welcome foreign industries. This training in civil engineering and renewable energies is really targeted at the field, and I think it's training that's heading in the right direction," Duck-Soo said. 

"There are many areas where we can cooperate. You have strong government goodwill, you have the necessary infrastructure, and the policies are very well constructed. These are all areas of cooperation that we can work on together, and I'm very optimistic about the future partnership between our two countries," he declared at the end of his tour.

Han Duck-Soo, as instructed by his President, invited PM Tomegah-Dogbe to the Africa-Korea Conference scheduled for 2024. He also asked for Togo's support for his country's candidacy to the World Heritage Committee for the 2023-2027 term and the 2030 Universal Exhibition.

On the sideline of the 60th anniversary of the Togo-South Korea cooperation, the Asian nation has supported several projects launched by the African government. For example, Seoul recently backed the Agropolis of Kara and financed the "equitable sustainable access to essential services for children in the North" project.

Esaïe Edoh