• Togo, Rwanda agree visa-free travel for all passport holders

• Deal aims to boost trade, tourism and business ties

• Agreement supports broader bilateral cooperation under AfCFTA

Togo and Rwanda have signed an agreement allowing visa-free travel for holders of all passport types, their foreign ministers said.

The deal was signed on Friday in Lomé by Togo’s foreign minister Robert Dussey and his Rwandan counterpart Olivier Nduhungirehe.

It aims to ease travel and boost trade, tourism and people-to-people ties between Lomé and Kigali.

The agreement comes as the two countries deepen bilateral cooperation. In January 2025, they said they wanted to expand collaboration in sectors including the digital economy, agriculture, trade, investment, green finance and energy.

Officials said the visa waiver would help advance those plans by cutting red tape for businesspeople and investors.

The deal follows talks held in Kigali in August 2024 on the sidelines of President Paul Kagame’s inauguration, when Togo’s President Faure Gnassingbé called for closer ties and urged both countries to seize opportunities under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

Togo and Rwanda have also been linked since 2018 by an air services agreement that allows RwandAir and Lomé-based ASKY Airlines to operate direct flights between the two capitals with no limits on frequencies.

Esaïe Edoh