Rwanda: What's Next for Rwanda, Togo Cooperation?

Rwanda and Togo's cooperation is set to gain momentum in various sectors such as agriculture, trade and investment, green financing, and energy, following the visit of Togolese President Faure Gnassingbé to Rwanda, on January 18.

He had a two-day visit to Rwanda where he held a tête-à-tête meeting with President Paul Kagame before joining delegations from both sides for bilateral talks to advance cooperation.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the two Heads of State reaffirmed their commitment to continue strengthening political, economic, and social cooperation, through the finalization of already negotiated agreements.

These include general cooperation agreement, an agreement establishing a permanent joint commission, an agreement on periodic political consultations, reciprocal visa exemption, and the double taxation avoidance agreement.

It stated that these projects, along with new areas of cooperation, could be examined further and signed later.

Speaking to The New Times, Prudence Sebahizi, the Minister of Trade and Industry, said establishing a joint permanent commission will enable other sector-specific agreements to follow.

Although no trade agreement was signed, he said that he held a meeting with the Togolese Minister of Trade, discussing matters of trade and investment in both countries.

As the delegations held extensive discussions with their Rwandan counterparts exploring various areas of cooperation, it was also agreed to send reciprocal study missions to deepen technical discussions on the various fields and sectors of cooperation.

"I always want to remind people that once we have visited each other, we have discussed, we have reached agreements, what remains is just to get to business and do what we have to do," President Kagame said following the bilateral discussions.

According to the African Development Bank, the West African nation is expected to have an economic growth of 5.3 per cent in 2024 and 6 percent in 2025, driven by the dynamism of agriculture and private investment.

Food and cash crop production employs the majority of the Togolese labor force and contributes about 42 per cent to the gross domestic product (GDP).

The main sources of export earnings are minerals such as phosphate, calcium, and clinker, which accounted for 22 per cent of total goods exports between 2019 and 2021, followed by plastics, textiles and clothing, and agricultural products (soybeans, oilseeds, cashew nuts).

In March 2024, Togo adopted a new constitution that changed its governing structure from presidential to parliamentary. Under the new system, Parliament will elect the president.

This article originally appeared in the New Times.