A government delegation from Niger has visited Togo to discuss ways of improving transport routes via the port of Lomé.

 As a landlocked country, Niger does not have its own access to the sea and the connection to Lomé is therefore of crucial importance. This is all the more important as Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali have left the West African Economic Community (ECOWAS), for this reason trade and economic links in the region need to be restructured.

The Nigerien Minister for Transport, Mahman Salissou, explained in Lomé that Togo had already done a lot for bilateral cooperation. However, there were still numerous problems, both technical and, above all, security-related ones. The Sahel states of Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali are under great pressure from Islamist terrorist organisations. The north of Togo and Ghana are also increasingly affected.

According to the Nigerien minister, it is important to secure and strengthen the Niamey - Ouagadougou - Lomé transport corridor, facilitate the movement of goods and thus contribute to the improved functioning of the national economies. The Togolese Minister for the Maritime Economy, Edem Tengue, called on companies to become more involved in this area and to invest in improved means of transport by water and land.