Key Developments in UK-Francophone Africa Relations
Lomé, the capital of Togo, has been hosting since Wednesday the Forum on Trade and Investment, organised jointly by the United Kingdom and Togo. The opening ceremony was chaired by the president of the Council, Faure Eyadema, and attended by Ben Coleman, the British Prime Minister’s special envoy for trade in Francophone Africa, alongside officials from Francophone countries invited to the forum.
The theme of this forum is: From success to success. In his speech, the British special envoy endeavoured to demonstrate that the progress made in the collaboration between the United Kingdom and Francophone Africa promises further successes. Today, the volume of business between the United Kingdom, Côte d’Ivoire, and Senegal is estimated to be around one billion pounds sterling, compared to less than half that amount not so long ago.
Mr Coleman emphasised that the British government is aligning its priorities with those of various African countries, as aid should support the plans and programmes proposed by partner governments. He stated that this is the case in Senegal and Benin, and likewise for other countries in the Francophone region. The British government is particularly interested in sectors such as energy, transport, digital payments, health, water, and the critical minerals sector.
The president of the Togolese council, Faure Gnassingbé, stated that Africa is no longer just a market but a partner. He outlined five points that should form the basis of the desired cooperation between the United Kingdom and Togo. Firstly, the creation of a new partnership based on complementarity. Secondly, investments in infrastructure. Thirdly, supporting local actors, as development cannot be decreed but must be built from the ground up. Fourthly, green growth and the digital revolution. And finally, supporting regional integration to encourage thinking beyond national borders, because the AfCFTA market (African Continental Free Trade Area), with its 1.4 billion consumers, is far more attractive than the small national markets of each state.
At the end of the opening ceremony, a memorandum of understanding was signed between Togo and the United Kingdom for an amount of 250 billion CFA francs to finance various development projects in the country.
Numerous country panels then marked the remainder of the first day of the forum, including panels dedicated to different countries: Togo, Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Mauritania, Benin, DRC, Cameroon, Guinea, and Congo.
Each country endeavoured to showcase its priority projects to British investors and financial institutions present in Lomé.
It is worth noting that this is the first time the forum, now in its fourth edition, is being held in Africa, and for Togo, this is seen as a diplomatic victory over other Francophone economic powers that could have claimed the privilege of hosting such an event.
And with Brexit, the United Kingdom is more committed than ever to developing dynamic partnerships to support its continued growth as the world’s sixth-largest economic power.