Togo/ In Lomé, Togolese and Turkish economic operators explore new avenues of cooperation

Some thirty Togolese and Turkish entrepreneurs met in Lomé on Tuesday May 27 for a Turkey-Togo Business Forum. The meeting, organized by the World Cooperation Industries Forum (WCI Forum), focused on bilateral cooperation, with the aim of strengthening economic exchanges between the two countries.

Participants from a wide range of sectors, including agri-food, household appliances, construction and public works, agriculture, textiles, industrial materials and cosmetics, discussed the investment opportunities offered by Togo, and explored potential partnerships in a context of economic diversification.and explored partnership opportunities in a context of economic diversification.

For the organizers, this forum is more than just a framework for commercial exchanges. It aims to become a genuine strategic platform for economic and political decision-makers, with a view to stimulating foreign direct investment (FDI) and consolidating economic relations between Lomé and Ankara.

" Our dynamic private sector, backed by a strategic vision, is ready to forge solid partnerships. Togo is a strategic hub, with a competitive Free Trade Zone and an ever-improving business climate ", declared José Symenouh, President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Togo (CCI-Togo), at the opening of the meeting.

With this in mind, the CCI-Togo presented the country's main assets to its Turkish partners. These included: the Port Autonome de Lomé, the only deep-water port in the sub-region capable of handling large-capacity vessels, and the country's dense financial ecosystem, supported by the presence of major regional institutions such as BOAD, BIDC and the pan-African banking group Ecobank.

This forum in Lomé follows on from an initial economic meeting organized in Aného in November 2024, which had already enabled operators from both countries to make initial contact. These initiatives are part of a drive to structure trade between Togo and Turkey on a long-term basis, we are told.

According to Muteber Kılıç, Turkey's ambassador to Togo, the volume of trade between the two countries reached nearly $300 million in 2023.

Source: www.togofirst.com