Minister in the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Investment, Senator Chad Blackman, and Mayor of Agoé-Nyivé 1, Akoeté Adanbounou, shake hands during their press briefing yesterday. Barbados is keen to develop a mutually beneficial relationship with the West African country Togo in areas such as business, tourism, and culture. (T. Barker/BGIS)
Barbados is keen to develop a mutually beneficial relationship with the West African country Togo through public and private sector partnerships in areas such as business, tourism, and culture.
Minister in the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Investment, Senator Chad Blackman, disclosed the areas of possible partnerships with the Mayor of Agoé-Nyivé 1, Akoeté Adanbounou, during a media briefing yesterday at the Ministry’s Third Floor East, Warrens Office Complex, Warrens, St. Michael location.
Minister Blackman noted that the Togolese delegation arrived on the island on Sunday, February 23, and this was a reciprocal visit following one last year by a delegation from Barbados to Togo, headed by Minister Blackman, and officials from Invest Barbados, including Chief Executive Officer, Kaye-Anne Greendige.
He said although there are formalised diplomatic relations at the government level, the real focus of the partnership will be on unlocking tangible benefits for citizens.
The Minister pointed out that the visit is aimed at exploring ways to make a Barbados-Togo partnership a reality. The focus will be on facilitating cargo transport and commerce between Barbados and Togo; investigating the regulations and policies needed to address and unlock partnerships; discussing the potential for tourism and cultural exchange between the two regions; and identifying opportunities to expand the relationship beyond just economic ties, such as in education and innovation.
“The purpose of it (visit) also this week is to explore how we can now build out, particularly for our business sector in Barbados, what are the opportunities Togo can present for our business sector, and by business sector, I don’t only mean the traditional aspect of business where we mean to establish companies, but also our young entrepreneurs must see this as an opportunity for them to be able to tap into the fast-growing economy that is Togo,” Senator Blackman said.
He added: “Now is the time for us to really rekindle our lineage with Africa. Not only in an emotional sentiment because of course that is where we are from, but now do it in a way that brings tremendous success and opportunity to Barbadians and equally on the reverse side to Togolese. And how do we build that out? Through partnerships and technical cooperation where necessary.”
Senator Blackman indicated that Togo is moving towards being a “smart city” with smart manufacturing, with advanced infrastructure and is home to the largest port in West Africa, the capital Lomé, which boasts state-of-the-art facilities.
“Togo has the largest port in West Africa…. They can clear their cargo from the ship to the actual customer in 12 minutes. So, these are the sorts of skill sets that we have to now leverage with Togo,” he said.
Mayor Adanbounou stressed that the visit is important for developing partnerships that would be advantageous to both parties.
“So, our visit … to you is to continue the discussions following up from last year. We have our technical persons from the technical branches of Togo Invest and Invest Barbados [and] we are going to discuss seriously how this dream can become a reality,” Mr. Adanbounou said.
Also present for the briefing was Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Patrick McCaskie; Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Invest Barbados, Kaye-Anne Greenidge; and from Togo, Second Deputy to the Mayor, Limazie Peyebinesso; Chief Executive Officer of Togo Invest, Ekue Mivedor; Economic Assistant to the Mayor, Maza Halo Gnassingbe; and Athiel Greenidge, a Barbadian with business ventures in Togo.
