Faure Gnassingbé Wants Europe and Africa to Build an Investment Pact, Not an Aid Relationship
Speaking in Rome, Togo’s leader urged Europe and Africa to replace traditional aid models with strategic joint investments. The appeal comes as foreign aid to Africa declines while investment flows gain importance. Togo is positioning itself as a regional platform for European and Gulf investors seeking opportunities in West Africa. . . .
Speaking in Rome, Togo’s leader urged Europe and Africa to replace traditional aid models with strategic joint investments. The appeal comes as foreign aid to Africa declines while investment flows gain importance. Togo is positioning itself as a regional platform for European and Gulf investors seeking opportunities in West Africa. Togo’s President of the Council, Faure Gnassingbé, called for a fundamental reset in economic relations between Europe and Africa during the FII Priority Europe 2026 summit in Rome on June 17. Addressing 1,600 business and political leaders, he argued that the traditional model based on development aid should give way to a framework of“strategic joint investments”built on shared interests and long-term economic partnerships. His remarks come at a time of major shifts in international development financing. Official development assistance from OECD countries fell 23. 1% in 2025 to $174. 3 billion, marking the largest annual decline on record. Africa was among the hardest-hit regions, with aid flows dropping 23. 9%. At the same time, foreign direct investment into Africa surged 75% in 2024 to a record $97 billion, according to UN Trade and Development. That performance, however, was heavily influenced by a single project: the $35 billion Ras El-Hekma development in Egypt, financed by the United Arab Emirates. Excluding that deal, foreign direct investment into Africa rose by a more modest 12% to $62 billion. Europe is also expanding its investment footprint on the continent through its Global Gateway initiative, which has earmarked €150 billion for Africa as part of a broader €400 billion program scheduled to run through 2027. Meanwhile, Gulf investors are becoming increasingly active. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), which organized the Rome summit and manages about $925 billion in assets, has identified Africa as a strategic priority in its 2026-2030 investment strategy, focusing on industry, critical minerals, artificial intelligence, and tourism. Toward a New Europe-Africa PartnershipFaure Gnassingbé built his argument around three core ideas. First, he said strategic autonomy should not be confused with isolation but understood as the ability to better manage interdependence. Second, he argued that capital should move beyond financing isolated assets and instead support integrated productive systems, including ports connected to logistics corridors, industrial zones supported by reliable energy infrastructure, and agricultural value chains linked to processing industries. Finally, he called for Europe and Africa to move beyond a relationship centered on aid, cooperation, and access to raw materials and adopt a model based on strategic joint investment. According to the Togolese leader, the interests of both continents are increasingly aligned. Europe is seeking reliable partners to secure supplies of energy, critical minerals, and industrial inputs. Africa, meanwhile, faces annual financing needs exceeding $402 billion for structural transformation, according to the African Development Bank, and requires long-term capital, technology, and industrial capabilities. He described this convergence as a strong basis for reshaping the partnership between the two regions. Togo Positions Itself as a Regional Investment HubFaure Gnassingbé also used the summit to highlight Togo’s ambition to become a gateway for European and Gulf investment in West Africa. He pointed to the Port of Lomé, transport corridors connecting coastal West Africa to the Sahel, the Adétikopé Industrial Platform, and trade facilitation reforms as key assets supporting that strategy. Lomé hosted the third edition of the Biashara Afrika forum on the African Continental Free Trade Area in May and is currently hosting the first African Air Transport Convention, which runs through June 19. Faure Gnassingbé also serves as the African Union’s champion for the Single African Air Transport Market, a flagship initiative aimed at integrating the continent’s aviation sector. Fiacre E. Kakpo