Togo: Gnassingbe receives Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with his counterpart in Togo on Tuesday as part of his three-leg Africa trip. Erdogan and Faure Gnassingbe met in Lome for a day of discussions.

It followed a meeting with Angolan President João Lourenço on Monday in Luanda at the start of the trip. The next and final stop for Erdogan will be Nigeria. 

But in Lome, several high-level exchanges planned took place between the Heads of State, as well as working sessions between different delegations.

It was notably a question of cooperation, prospects for partnership, and signing of agreements including the financing of the industrial platform of Adéticopé located at the northern exit of Lomé. 

In less than a year, several Togolese ministers, including Foreign Affairs, Security and the Armed Forces have successively visited Ankara.

In Turkey's trade balance, Africa does not weigh very heavily: less than 10% of its exports, compared to 56% to Europe and 26% to Asia. But since 2003, the volume of trade between Turkey and Africa has increased fivefold, from 5 to 25 billion dollars. Turkish investments on the continent have also exploded, amounting to 6.5 billion dollars according to official figures.

Presidents of Burkina Faso and Liberia in Lomé

Beyond President Erdogan's visit, the Presidents of Burkina Faso, Roch-Marc Christian Kaboré, and Liberia, George Weah, also visited the Togolese capital on Tuesday. They joined in discussions later with President Gnassingbe.