Portuguese-Togolese relations

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Portuguese-Togolese relations
Location of Portugal and Togo
PortugalPortugal TogoTogo
Portugal Togo

The Portuguese-Togolese relations describe the intergovernmental relationship between Portugal and Togo . The countries have had direct diplomatic relations since 1978.

At the end of the 15th century, Portuguese were the first Europeans in the region of today's Togo. Today's relationships are considered good, but there is room for improvement, which is what both sides are now striving for.

In 2015, 35 citizens of Togo were registered in Portugal, while 20 Portuguese were registered as consular in Togo in 2014.

history

Map of West Africa around 1625

Portuguese seafarers were the first Europeans to reach the Bay of Benin around 1472 . They were impressed by the art treasures they saw there, especially the works of bronze, ivory, wood and terracotta . The politically most important state in the region was the Kingdom of Benin . Political, diplomatic and trade relations then developed, especially between Benin and Portugal. They were the most important in the region between Volta and Niger , which later became known as the Slave Coast , and in which Portugal developed intense activities.

The most important trade goods here were slaves , which the Kingdom of Benin captured in its wars and sold to the Portuguese, who then brought them to their Fort São Jorge da Mina, founded in 1482 on the Portuguese Gold Coast (now Ghana ), and from there exchanged them for gold . In today's Togo, Aného was a Portuguese base.

From these contacts a triangular trade developed between Portugal, Africa and Brazil in the 16th century , which, with increasing competition from the Dutch, French and English, turned into direct trade between the coast of Brazil and the Bay of Benin . With the flight of the Portuguese royal family to Brazil and the establishment of the capital of the Portuguese Empire in Rio de Janeiro at the beginning of the 19th century, we must speak of a direct relationship between Brazil and Africa. Above all, the French ethnologist Pierre Fatumbi Verger examined this relationship and in particular the displacement of people between the slave coast and Brazil, both in the trade from the slave coast to Brazil, and in the return of many former slaves there with the abolition of slavery in the middle of the 19th century.

A number of existing family names in the region date from this period, including a. da Silva , da Costa , da Rocha, de Souza , d'Almeida , dos Santos , Marinho, Martins and Olympio.

Monument to the independence of Togo in the capital Lomé

In contrast to the surrounding regions, Togo did not become a European colony afterwards, instead areas formed that were temporarily under the influence of the Ashanti Empire or the Kingdom of Dahomey .

From 1884 Togo became a German colony . As a result of the First World War , around a third of Togos became British and the rest French in 1914. The British part later became part of Ghana , while the French part became autonomous in 1955 and in 1960 when the state of Togo gained independence. The first president of Togo was Sylvanus Olympio , who himself belonged to an Afro-Brazilian family of retornadoes .

The young state then developed no friendly relations with Portugal until the end of the colonial Estado Novo regime through the left-wing Carnation Revolution in Portugal in 1974. The new Portuguese government then ended the Portuguese colonial wars, released its previous colonies into independence in 1975 and established its own international relations.

On March 18, 1978, the now democratic Portugal entered into diplomatic relations with Togo. The two countries did not establish mutual embassies.

In June 2016, the foreign ministers of both countries, Robert Dussey and Augusto Santos Silva, met in Lisbon. They affirmed both good existing relationships and the intention to deepen them, especially in economic terms.

diplomacy

Portugal does not have its own embassy in Togo, the country belongs to the administrative district of the Portuguese embassy in the Nigerian capital Abuja . Also consulates Portugal has not furnished in Togo.

Togo also does not have its own embassy in Portugal; the Togolese representation in Paris is responsible . There is a consulate of Togo in Lisbon.

economy

Loading of cotton bales in Lomé (1885): until today cotton is Togo's main export

The Portuguese Chamber of Commerce AICEP does not have a branch in Togo; the AICEP office in the Nigerian capital Abuja is responsible.

In 2016, Portugal exported goods worth 14.965 million euros to Togo ( 2015 : 5.519 million; 2014 : 9.577 million; 2013 : 37.005 million; 2012 : 36.950 million), of which 83.8% was fuel, 5, 0% machines and devices, 2.8% paper and cellulose and 2.1% minerals and ores.

In the same period, Togo delivered goods worth EUR 1.980 million to Portugal ( 2015 : 2.457 million; 2014 : 1.693 million; 2013 : 2.455 million; 2012 : 1.534 million), of which 69.3% were textile fibers (especially raw - Cotton ), 26.2% agricultural products, 4.4% vehicles and vehicle parts and 0.1% vehicles and vehicle parts.

This put Togo in 92nd place as a buyer and 122nd as a supplier for Portuguese foreign trade, while Portugal ranks 33rd as a buyer and 43rd as a supplier for Togolese foreign trade.

Web links

Commons : Portuguese-Togolese Relations  - Collection of Pictures, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Overview of diplomatic relations with Togo at the diplomatic institute in the Portuguese Foreign Ministry , accessed on May 4, 2019
  2. ↑ a b Cultiver la proximité entre le Portugal et le Togo , article from June 7, 2016 on the website of the government of Togo, accessed on May 28, 2017
  3. ↑ Official Portuguese aliens statistics by district , Portuguese Aliens and Borders Authority SEF, accessed on May 27, 2017
  4. ↑ Website on Togo-Portuguese migration (Table A.3) at the Portuguese scientific Observatório da Emigração , accessed on May 27, 2017
  5. ↑ a b Fernando Cristóvão (Ed.): Dicionário Temático da Lusofonia. Texto Editores, Lisbon / Luanda / Praia / Maputo 2006 ( ISBN 972-47-2935-4 ), p. 835
  6. ↑ List of Portuguese missions abroad , website of the Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, accessed on May 27, 2017
  7. ↑ Entry of the Togolese consulate in Lisbon on www.embaixadas.net, accessed on May 28, 2017
  8. ↑ a b c Bilateral economic relations between Portugal and Togo , Excel file retrieval from the Portuguese Chamber of Commerce AICEP, accessed on May 28, 2017