Togo: Here are some points from Faure Gnassingbé’s strategic vision in Yokohama
Yokohama, August 20, 2025 – Africa’s voice resonated with strength and clarity at the Forum on Economic Partnership with Indian Ocean countries. Led by the President of the Togolese Council, His Excellency Faure Gnassingbé, a bold and visionary speech captivated the assembly, outlining the contours of a renewed, structured, and mutually beneficial economic partnership. This landmark intervention positions Togo not only as a leading logistical hub but also as a strategic thinker on the international stage.
At the heart of this ambitious vision lie three fundamental pillars. First, the President highlighted the pivotal logistical and industrial role that Africa—and Togo in particular—is ready to play in creating an integrated and seamless trade zone between the African continent and Indian Ocean nations. This vision turns geography into an economic asset, proposing interconnected platforms to facilitate exchanges and reduce historic trade barriers.
Second, the key proposal focuses on the “co-creation of industrial value chains.” This goes beyond the traditional exchange of raw materials for manufactured goods, calling instead for joint efforts, in a spirit of complementarity, to build integrated industries.
The third axis, equally strategic, calls for the “repositioning of the entire region as a space of strategic connection.” Beyond the flow of goods, this means creating an interconnected ecosystem of services, data, capital, and innovation.
This vision places Africa and the Indian Ocean as a dynamic bridge between continents—a crucial crossroads in redefining global supply chains and building new routes to prosperity.
It should be noted that President Faure Gnassingbé’s advocacy goes beyond conventional rhetoric, as it offers a genuine win-win framework in which Japan and the Indian Ocean countries will find in Africa—and in Togo—a reliable, innovative, and forward-looking partner.
