Togo-Rwanda: Visa exemption to boost economic cooperation between Lomé and Kigali
A major breakthrough in African integration has just been realized between Togo and Rwanda. The two countries signed a reciprocal visa exemption agreement for all passport categories in Lomé. Signed by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Robert Dussey for Togo and Olivier Nduhungirehe for Rwanda, this agreement opens a new era of free mobility and enhanced cooperation between the two nations.
The objective of this protocol is clear and ambitious: to facilitate the movement of people in order to deeply stimulate economic, tourism, and human exchanges.
By removing a significant administrative barrier, it aims to create a business-friendly environment, enabling investors, entrepreneurs, and economic operators from both countries to meet, exchange ideas, and develop joint projects with unprecedented ease.
This signing is not an isolated act. It fits within a context of strategic bilateral rapprochement, formalized in January 2025 by a shared desire to intensify cooperation in forward-looking sectors.
Digital technology, modern agriculture, cross-investments, green financing, and renewable energy are among the identified priority areas.
The visa exemption thus becomes the essential logistical tool to breathe concrete life into these partnership ambitions by accelerating travel and business establishment.
This dynamic is rooted in high-level political commitments. It echoes discussions initiated in August 2024 in Kigali during the inauguration of President Paul Kagame.
President Faure Gnassingbé had then advocated for diversifying the partnership and jointly exploiting the immense opportunities offered by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
The mobility agreement appears as a first operational response to this vision, facilitating the creation of regional value chains.
Furthermore, this advancement builds upon an already liberalized air transport infrastructure. Since 2018, an open skies agreement has allowed RwandAir and ASKY Airlines, based in Lomé, to operate unlimited direct flights between Kigali and Lomé. The removal of the visa requirement thus completes an optimal connectivity ecosystem, transforming travel between the two capitals into a simple formality for citizens.
Beyond economic facilitation, this agreement carries a strong human and cultural dimension. It encourages tourism, academic exchanges, and mutual discovery, helping to build lasting ties between civil societies.
By bringing Togo and Rwanda closer together; two nations regarded as poles of stability and innovation on the continent this act symbolizes an Africa that is uniting, removing its internal borders, and betting on the integration of its peoples as a fundamental lever for its development and shared prosperity.
Kodjovi Makafui
