The President of the Republic, HE. Mohamed Bazoum, began an official visit to the Togolese Republic on Monday March 20, 2023, at the invitation of his counterpart Faure E. GNASSINGBE. At the head of a large delegation, President Bazoum arrived at the Gnassingbé EYADEMA International Airport in Lomé at the end of the morning, where he was welcomed on getting off the plane by the Togolese Head of State before receiving military honors and to follow the performance of the national anthems of the two countries.
Immediately afterwards, the two Heads of State had a first face-to-face meeting at the Lomé 2 Palace, before co-chairing the meeting of the two delegations.
In the afternoon of Monday, Presidents Mohamed Bazoum and Faure GNASSINGBE went to the Autonomous Port of Lomé (PAL), for the inauguration of the new facilities of Lomé Container Terminal SA (LCT) which operates, on a site of 53 hectares and a quay of 1,050 meters, 2,200,000 containers per year.
The deep-water port of Lomé was commissioned in 1962 and has continued to grow ever since to become one of the largest on the continent, with two terminals (LCT and Bolloré) and latest-generation handling equipment. LCT aims to be the gateway to Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso and Northern Nigeria.
After having received ample explanations on the capacities of the PAL and the comparative advantages which it presents for Niger, President Bazoum made the tour of the port installations.
Then, and still in the afternoon, the President of the Republic and his delegation met at the International Conference Center (CIC) in Lomé, with the Nigerien community living in Togo. It is a large and dynamic diaspora, united around Ambassador Sidi Zakari, who converged at the CIC, to magnify in the speech of its representatives the exemplary nature of Niger-Togolese relations. The representatives of women, students, breeders, transporters, the High Council of Nigeriens Abroad, all affirmed to live in peace in Togo and in harmony with their Togolese brothers. However, they raised some concerns, particularly relating to the security of the Togo-Niger road corridor, the registration of non-national students at the University of Lomé, access to land titles, etc.
President Mohamed Bazoum reassured them on these questions: “I am making these visits, last week in Benin, today in Togo, in countries where we have important interests. We discuss with the authorities of these countries our interests and the situation of our community. We were already aware of your concerns and for some, solutions are found,” he said. President Bazoum also announced that a meeting of transport ministers will be held in the next ten days in Niamey, on the issue of the corridor.
The Head of State finally mentioned the future electoral deadlines which will designate the deputies of the diaspora, calling on his compatriots living in Togo to lead a healthy competition.
Source: Press service of the Presidency of the Republic