On 05 November 2021, Mr. John D. FINTAKPA LAMEGA, the Chargé d’Affaires of the Republic of Togo had a working meeting with Madam Bernadette Zeiler, CEO & Head of International Trade of the Johannesburg Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI).  The meeting began with a site visit of the JCCI, an independent, non-political, subscription-based association dedicated to promoting a business-friendly environment which was founded 131 years ago and plays a key role in the promotion and facilitation of international trade. Upon mutual introduction, Mr. FINTAKPA LAMEGA expressed a keen interest in strengthening the existing ties between South Africa & Togo and requested the assistance of the Chamber in order to connect with potential investors based in South Africa. He gave an overview of the investment opportunities in Togo. He indicated among other things, that Togo has a free economic zone, a deep-water port, a renovated airport. He also pointed out that Togo is a member of sub regional entities such as the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU/UEMOA) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). He mentioned that Togo has a favorable business environment and tax facilities. Furthermore, he emphasized that accessing the Togolese market opens a gateway to the Sahel region such as Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger. Afterwards, Madam Zeiler took the floor and said that the JCCI is a link between Governments and businesses and is part of the International Chamber of Commerce as well as the major chamber in South Africa including the Cape town Chamber, Durban Chamber, Pietermaresburg Chamber, Port Elizabeth Chamber, East London Chamber and Middleburg Chamber. She added that most activities have been ongoing online due to the COVID-19 pandemic however they are going to resume face to face activities from next year. She spoke about a trade day event, a very beneficial platform, which is organized by the Chamber to present countries investment and trade opportunities to its members and enable them to network with various partners. She emphasized that the Trade days are cost-effective and they have had great success with it in the past. Lastly, she pointed out that the Chambers of commerce of the two countries could sign a Memorandum of Understanding in order to mutually promote trade and commerce opportunities. Finally, the Chargé d’Affaires showed his appreciation to Madam Zeiler for taking time to meet with him and expressed his hope for a fruitful cooperation in the near future. The meeting ended with a hand over of pamphlet and CD on investment opportunities in Togo. Pretoria, 05 November 2021

On Friday 13 August 2021, the Embassy of the Republic of Togo held a handover ceremony between Mr. Kokoutché GOUNA and Mr. John Dékalèga FINTAKPA LAMEGA, former First Counsellor and Legal Adviser at the Permanent Mission of Togo to the United Nations in New-York, the newly appointed Chargé d’Affaires a.i. and Head of the Embassy. In a statement, Mr. FINTAKPA LAMEGA, who assumed his Office as of 11 August 2021, congratulated his predecessor on his due diligence and hard work and assured his staff to stay the course so that Togo continues to be engaged in South Africa as well as in countries under his jurisdiction with the vue to representing Togo, to protecting the Togolese people in the Southern Africa as well as presenting to potential investors all opportunies and new economical reforms that can enable them to visit and invest in Togo. The Staff of the Embassy welcomes and wishes all the best to the new Chargé d’Affaires a.i. Pretoria, 13 August 2021.

Robert Dussey, chief negotiator for the Organization of ACP States (OEACP), urges all countries to adopt innovative measures *. ______ The coronavirus, which has been shutting down the world for several weeks, challenges us humans and confronts us with certain existential questions. Where are we going so fast? Is humanity going to its loss or is it following its own destination? These questions, which cannot leave the human conscience indifferent, convince us of one thing: the human experience of freedom in history, the theater of contrasts, can lead to better or worse. When the worst happens, it experiences, but also constitutes an invitation by humanity to a reorientation of its existential behavior. Generations pass, but humanity remains and has a duty of lucidity towards itself as the coronavirus has just reminded us once again. This pandemic has got the better of national and continental borders, and the tricontinental ACP (Asia, Caribbean, Pacific) space is not immune to its sphere of extension. The area is less affected by Covid-19, both in number of contamination and in mortality, which currently contradicts all the apocalyptic predictions. However, the impacts of the pandemic on the three regions of the Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OEACP) are very real. They must lead the organization to invent an internal strategy to respond to pandemics and to put the human and social at the base of relations with its partners. Indeed, the countries of the OEACP, beyond national and regional specificities, have a common characteristic trait: vulnerability. It is a plural vulnerability because it is multisectoral. The coronavirus crisis is straining very fragile health systems, under pressure from national solidarity mechanisms and very vulnerable economies. Several countries in the organization are already experiencing the economic impacts of the crisis. The consequences are humanly costly, socially paralyzing and economically dangerous. The economic growth which has enabled certain ACP countries to rise to the rank of middle-income countries is today highly questioned. The economic crisis that the Covid-19 imposes on countries risks eventually tipping an even larger proportion of populations into “objective poverty” and amplifying the level of vulnerabilities in the three regions. The common condition of vulnerability of the ACP countries, an expressive sign of a fundamental ontological fragility which they share with the whole human community, predisposes them, at operational and economic levels, to the response to the pandemic. However, coordinated collective action at the ACP level and an internal response strategy could support the fight at the scale of the three regions. Following the new spirit of the recently revised Georgetown Agreement, and in response to current challenges, both health, social and economic, the organization must step up cooperation internally. The coronavirus crisis invites the ACP to explore their possibilities for internal cooperation from which innovative actions can emerge. “In the beginning was action” (Goethe) and we must act and above all quickly, the present being the moment of choice and action (Simone de Beauvoir). Fortunately, intra-ACP cooperation is at work. Witness the initiatives and measures taken by the organization in collaboration with the African Farmers Organization (PAFO) against the socio-economic impacts of the pandemic on agricultural production and food supply systems. It must be amplified on a transcontinental ACP scale and lead to a common strategy and a solid ACP plan of response to the coronavirus. The strategy must be motivated by a common commitment against the same challenge in a sense of common belonging and community of destiny and have a substantial economic component intended to support the economic recovery of the Member States. The Extraordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government was held on June 3 on the theme “Transcending the Covid-19 Pandemic: Building Resilience Through Global Solidarity”. The meeting met this requirement and enabled the organization to internally harmonize pandemic response strategies and actions. External partners are supporting the OEACP in the response to the coronavirus. The European Union, through the Europe-Africa-Caribbean-Pacific Liaison Committee and especially the Team Europ initiative, has allocated 20 billion euros. It was presented on April 8 at the launch of the European response, at the international level, to the coronavirus pandemic within the framework of cooperation. The extraordinary summit on June 3 was also an opportunity for the OEACP to call for more global solidarity towards its members during this time of crisis. In times of crisis, solidarity saves. The organization of the ACP States and the EU are in talks with a view to redefining the normative and regulatory framework for their partnership in its post-Cotonou phase. As nature does nothing in vain (Emmanuel Kant) and historical coincidence obliges, the partners must clearly include clauses relating to pandemics and their socio-economic consequences. Human, social and health must be at the heart of post-Cotonou. “The distribution of the benefits of global relations depends not only on internal policies, but also on a whole range of international agreements of a social nature,” recalled Amartya Sen in 2012. Who spoke of “trade treaties, patent law, global health initiatives, international education arrangements, ways to facilitate the dissemination of technology, ecological and environmental moderation agreements, the treatment of accumulated debts ”. The ACP countries and the EU have the ambition to bring the partnership into line with the reality of the world and the new challenges linked to human progress. This is why we cannot go to the signing of a new cooperation agreement without wondering about the consequences and implications of Covid-19 for the partnership. As an action, negotiations take place in a context of coronaviruses that they cannot ignore. Any action, teaches Edgar Morin, enters into the “inter-feedback game” of the context in which it takes place and bears the imprints of the context. The questioning of the implications of Covid-19 for the EAPCS-EU partnership is not without interest for the future of the partnership. To underestimate the implications of Covid-19 for the EAPCS-EU partnership in the negotiation process would reflect a lack of imagination at odds with the ambitions of both parties linked to

The Chargé d’affaires of Togo in South Africa, Mr. Kokoutse Gouna traveled this Wednesday, November 6, to “Birchwood Hotel and OR Tambo Conference Center” in Johannesburg where the African Women in Dialogue (AFWID) forum is taking place. Objective, meet the women who represent Togo at this great continental meeting to support and encourage them. In turn, part of the Togolese delegation went to the Embassy of Togo in Pretoria on Thursday November 7 to say thank you to the Togolese diplomat. During his visit, the Chargé d’affaires welcomed Togo’s strong participation in this forum and welcomed the commitment of the Togolese woman who, according to him, has finally found its way. “It is a great joy to see our women in South Africa. It is not every day that we receive a delegation of women. So it’s already a very nice surprise for us and above all we are happy to see that the woman has finally found her way. I also believe it is an honor to be here and support them. I wish them all the happiness so that they always carry Togo higher, “said Mr. Kokoutse Gouna. For Mr. Gouna, women should no longer be reduced to household activities. “Our sisters must be inspired by this event so that the woman can go even further. Women have their place in society. And for the development of our country, it must contribute to it, ”he insists. The diplomat also invited women to contribute, to calm the climate during this electoral period in Togo. He remembers that in the days when the men left scarcely, the women went on sex strike and calm returned. “Women have the ability to invite men to the table for discussion, dialogue and soothing the climate. “, He said. In Pretoria, Thursday, November 7, the women’s delegation for its part, said it was delighted with the consideration of the diplomat vis-à-vis his compatriots. “We are very touched by your gesture. You have honored us before an entire continent. You have shown us that you are very sensitive to the feminine cause and that marked us very much, ”says AFWID national coordinator, Ms. Toffa Kékéli, entrepreneur. It should be emphasized, the diplomat took the opportunity to exchange with these women on his mission and activities as a representative of Togo in South Africa. He also mentioned the creation of the Embassy which dates back 4 years. Reflections have also revolved around possible cultural projects that the Embassy of Togo in South Africa could organize in order to give more visibility to Togolese products in the country of Madiba. As a reminder, 15 Togolese women participate in the Forum African Women in Dialogue which takes place from 4 to 8 November in Johannesrbourg. Organized by the Zanele Mbeki Development Trust, AFWID aims to be an inclusive dialogue platform intended to bring together African women from all walks of life under the same roof so that they can debate issues of continental importance and female leadership. Hélène Doubidji, special envoy from Togotopnews to Johannersburg

After an official dinner last night, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa began Friday, December 6, 2019, the economic and diplomatic aspect of his visit to Togo. He went to the port of Lome and was briefed on the operation of this platform, one of the most successful in Africa. Lome is the gateway to landlocked countries like Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso. He then went to the training center for peacekeeping operations. Every year, hundreds of peacekeepers are trained before their deployment on different theaters of operation: Mali, Sudan, Haiti … According to the program communicated by the South African presidency, Cyril Ramaphosa and Faure Gnassingbé will hold talks during the day in the presidency. On this occasion, a framework agreement should be signed on agricultural cooperation, port management, mining and energy. The South African economic presence is already a reality in Togo. Ecobank has as reference shareholder Nedbank. ‘The working visits of President Ramaphosa to the sister republics (of Guinea, Ghana and Togo, Ed.) Offer South Africa the opportunity to explore new areas of cooperation with the three partner States and to promote intensification of trade and investment, “said an advisor to the South African head of state. He added that this tour is also an opportunity to discuss issues of mutual interest ‘related to the quest for a peaceful and prosperous continent in Africa, in line with the aspirations of the transformative agenda of the African Union’. The South African delegation includes several ministers: International Relations & Cooperation, Agriculture, Military Veterans, State Security and Trade and Indistria (Deputy Minister).  

Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa, completed a 24-hour visit to Togo. He said he was very happy to have made this trip. In a press conference with his counterpart Faure Gnassingbé, he praised the good bilateral relations and wants to strengthen them in the sectors of trade, transport, security, agriculture and mining. A framework agreement has been signed. The two men also spoke about the national development plan; strategy that Togo intends to implement to ensure its emergence. It relies on private investment. And South African companies are obviously welcome. ‘We want domestic and foreign investment, but especially foreign investment from Africa. South Africans are important investors and I hope that Togo is also for them an investment land, “said Faure Gnassingbé. He announced the upcoming holding of an economic forum in Johannesburg.