Togo signs 5-year MoU with Gabon to import wood products from the Central African country

Economic governance

Wednesday, 07 July 2021 17:05

Togo signs 5-year MoU with Gabon to import wood products from the Central African country

(Togo First) - Last week, on July 2, Togo and Gabon signed a memorandum of understanding to make it easier for the former to import wood products from the latter. The MoU was signed in Libreville, Gabon, by the Togolese Minister of forest resources and environment, Katari Foli-Bazi, and Gabon’s Minister of water and forest resources, Lee White.

The five-year agreement will mutually open up the countries’ wood industries and bolster cooperation regarding the sustainable management of the environment and forest resources.

On the Gabonese side, the deal will enable businesses operating in the country’s wood industry to access the Togolese real estate market. As for Togo, it should take advantage of the opportunity to emulate Gabon’s forest conservation and protection models.

“We are moving from a model of conservation of our forest resources to a model of protection, conservation, and exploitation. We want to learn from the Gabonese model to attract many investors in the timber sector and boost trade between our countries,” said the Togolese minister, Katari Foli-Bazi, after the agreement was signed.

Togo, let’s emphasize, has doubled down on efforts to protect its timber industry and preserve its vegetation cover which has been degraded in recent years. To this end, the government on May 12, 2021, prohibited the export of sawn and semi-sawn wood products.

Esaïe Edoh

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In comparison to previous years, Togo has significantly improved its ranking on the “Trading across borders” index by adopting multiple reforms that focus mainly on the digitalization and reduction in delays, for import and export procedures related to import and export.

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