Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala welcomed the Prime Minister of Togo, H.E. Ms. Victoire Tomegah Dogbé, to the WTO on 15 June.
They discussed the ongoing work of the WTO, Togo’s economic diversification, and how trade can deliver for the African continent, especially in the context of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
The Director-General thanked the Prime Minister, the first woman to hold the post in Togo for the country’s continued support of the multilateral trading system and for its engagement at the WTO and the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF).
She encouraged the Government of Togo to implement the outcomes from the WTO’s 12th Ministerial Conference in June 2022 and to work towards a successful 13th Ministerial Conference next February.
The Director-General also urged the Prime Minister and her Government to quickly deposit Togo’s instrument of acceptance of the Fisheries Subsidies Agreement, noting that Africa is a victim of the illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.
The benefits of the new Agreement include, amongst other things, the combatting of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and fishing of overfished stocks whilst at the same time safeguarding the livelihood of artisanal fisherfolk.
Those subsidies would be prohibited once two-thirds of the WTO’s membership has accepted the Agreement.
Togo has been a member of WTO since May 1995 and a member of the WTO’s predecessor, the GATT, since March 1964.
