Togolese President Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé has urged Africa to strengthen its collective resilience in the goal of achieving economic sovereignty.
Gnassingbé said on Monday during the opening of the 3rd African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Biashara Afrika Conference in Lome, the Togolese capital, that no African economy alone possessed sufficient critical mass to sustainably defend its interests.
“In this regard, the AfCFTA is much more than a trade agreement. It represents an instrument of continental economic sovereignty,” the Togolese president highlighted.
He added that AfCFTA must enable Africa to produce more locally, better secure its strategic supplies, strengthen its industrial capacities, and, above all, increase its bargaining power in the global economy.
While African regional integration was, for a long time, viewed as a political ideal, the president said, integration of the continent has now become an economic and geostrategic necessity, stressing, “Africa will not be able to exert lasting influence in global balances if it remains fragmented into narrow and insufficiently connected markets.”
He said the continent is blessed with abundant natural resources, a young population, a market of more than 1.4 billion consumers, rapid urbanization, and immense potential in agriculture, industry, digital technology, energy, and even cultural industries.
“But we must recognize one reality: Africa still too often exports raw materials and imports processed products with high added value. This model limits industrial job creation. It weakens our economies in the face of external shocks and reduces our ability to generate wealth on the continent,” he indicated.
Gnassingbé, therefore, urged Africa to develop strong regional value chains and work hard toward the emergence of a stronger African private sector—”and I emphasize, a stronger African private sector”—to influence Africa’s economic transformation.
As a gesture of exemplary good will, the president gave his national security minister 48 hours to resolve the lingering issue of non-tariff barriers on the Togolese side, including border delays that continue to slow trade.