1. As part of the festivities marking the “Commonwealth Day” and at the invitation of His Majesty King Charles III, His Excellency Professor Robert DUSSEY, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and the Togolese Abroad, visited London from the 13^th to 15^th of March 2023.

2. As Togo joined the Commonwealth in June 2022, its first participation in the celebration of the “Commonwealth Day” testifies to the respect of the commitments made by the President of the Republic, H.E. Mr. Faure Essozimna GNASSIGBE, during the Togolese flag raising ceremony at the headquarters of the organisation, to participate in the activities of the Commonwealth and to contribute to the achievement of its objectives.

3. Thus, on the 13^th of March 2023, Professor Robert DUSSEY took part in the Commonwealth flag raising ceremony at the Palace of Westminster. Recalling the foundations of the Institution, the Speaker of the House of Commons of the British Parliament, host of this ceremony, welcomed the mobilisation of Member States and pleaded for the strengthening of parliamentary cooperation for the benefit of nations.

4. Minister DUSSEY also attended a mass at Westminster Abbey in the presence of His Majesty King Charles III, which marked the climax of the Commonwealth Day celebrations. In his speech, King Charles III said that diversity is the great wealth of the Commonwealth and called for more tolerance and respect so that peace may reign in the world.

5. During his stay in London, and at the invitation of The Rt Hon Patricia SCOTLAND KC, Secretary General of the Commonwealth, Minister DUSSEY also took part in the 22nd session of the Commonwealth Foreign Affairs Ministers Meeting (CFAMM), on the 15^th of March 2023 at Marlborough House.

6. The work of this 22nd session focused on several topics of interest to the Commonwealth, including the implementation of the recommendations and decisions of the 2022 Heads of State and Government Summit: building resilience for peaceful, just and stable societies, financing climate resilience and environmental sustainability, and intra-Commonwealth trade and digital connectivity to support Member States in times of crisis.

7. For a first participation of his country in the CFAMM, Prof. DUSSEY spoke about the security situation in the Sahel and the expansionist tendencies of terrorist groups in the West African sub-region. He thus noted the various measures taken by the Togolese government both before and after the first terrorist attacks in Togo, to fight against this scourge, namely: the state of security emergency in the Savannah region, the military programming law and the launch of the Emergency Resilience Plan for the Savannah region. The Togolese Minister also recalled the importance of the Accra Initiative in the fight against this phenomenon and appealed to the Commonwealth to support the efforts of the States of the West African sub-region.

Done at London, on the 15^th of March 2023