Mr. Minister of Foreign Affairs,

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen Ambassadors,

Distinguished Guests,

It is with deep honor that I address this diplomatic opening of the Togolese Republic, at the fraternal invitation of my brother, Professor Robert Dussey, Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Integration and Togolese Abroad. I would like to commend the foresight and relevance of this meeting, which, beyond Togolese diplomacy, contributes to fostering pan-African reflection on the contemporary challenges facing our continent.

I would especially like to pay a heartfelt tribute to the leadership of His Excellency Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé, whose vision and actions have given Togo a new face, making this country a space of stability and initiative serving our continent.

We find ourselves today in a global context marked by profound reorganizations. Geopolitical rivalries are rekindling, and Africa, far from being on the margins, finds itself at the center of these upheavals. But what is new, what is changing the situation, is that Africa itself has transformed. It is no longer the passive and silent Africa of yesterday. It is driven by a demanding youth, aware of its rights, connected to the dynamics of the world. A youth that is forcefully saying: “We do not just want to inherit a flag, we want to inherit a power.”

We see this quest for sovereignty expressed everywhere. It is at the heart of recent changes in the Sahel. In Bamako, Ouagadougou, and Niamey, new leaders have emerged, driven by a public opinion that rejects old dependencies. Colonels Assimi Goïta and Ibrahim Traoré, and General Tiani, enjoy popular support, not because they embody perfect democracies, but because they symbolize an expected break. Entire crowds celebrated the departure of French forces as a national victory. We can criticize the methods, but we cannot ignore the significance: Africa wants to take back control of its destiny.

I can personally attest to this. On January 31st, while I was heading Chadian diplomacy, I led the disengagement of French troops stationed in Chad. Many abroad were surprised by the decision of the President of the Republic of Chad, Marshal Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, thus responding to the aspirations repeatedly expressed by Chadian youth. But what struck us was the reaction of our people. In Chad, this departure sparked a wave of popular support and a sense of national pride that few had anticipated. We saw that day that a people could rise again simply because they were convinced they had begun to regain their dignity. This experience convinced me that the march toward African sovereignty is irreversible.

This African awakening comes at a time when major powers are increasing their presence on our continent. Russia has made a spectacular comeback, first in the Central African Republic, then in the Sahel, where it combines military cooperation with the exploitation of mineral resources. The United States, for its part, has reactivated its old strategic reflexes: after years of “sweet insouciance,” it organized a summit in Washington in 2022 and promised $55 billion in investments. As for China, it is now unavoidable: more than $200 billion in trade, roads, ports, railways, but in return, it causes an African debt that raises concerns.

France, for its part, is going through a profound crisis in Africa. Challenged in the Sahel, forced to withdraw from Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, then Chad, Senegal, and Ivory Coast, it has lost in just a few years a military presence it considered to be a defining factor. It is therefore up to Paris to rethink its African policy on new foundations of mutual respect.

Alongside these historic players, newcomers are making strides. Turkey has opened more than forty embassies in fifteen years, Turkish Airlines serves more than sixty African cities, and its Bayraktar drones are now used in Ethiopia, Niger, and Burkina Faso. The Emirates, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia are investing in our ports and agricultural land. India and Brazil are seeking to strengthen their presence. All are looking to Africa because they know that our continent contains most of the strategic resources of the future: cobalt, lithium, uranium, oil, and gas. The Democratic Republic of Congo alone supplies 70% of the world’s cobalt, essential for electric batteries. Niger, meanwhile, holds 5% of the world’s uranium, while Zimbabwe is one of the largest producers of lithium. It goes without saying that whoever controls these resources controls the world’s energy and technological future.

But beyond wealth, another issue attracts these powers: security. According to the UN, 43% of global terrorism victims are in Africa, primarily in the Sahel. This is a tragedy for our populations, but it has also become a market. Russia supplies 40% of the weapons sold to the continent. Turkey and China are advancing rapidly. Too often, our insecurities are amplified, if not exploited, by the rivalry of foreign powers.

Excelses, Ladies and Gentlemen, If we truly want to talk about strategic autonomy, we must first bring about a revolution in our mentalities and in our approach to development. For it is not just a matter of proclaiming our sovereignty, but of finding strategic paths that allow us to take concrete advantage of it.

We must invest massively in our future. This means devoting at least 5% of our GDP to education and 1% to research and innovation, in order to give our young people the tools to be key players in the digital and technological revolution. It also means developing a pan-African computing infrastructure and artificial intelligence applications adapted to our realities: healthcare, precision agriculture, climate management, and African languages.

The example of South Korea is illuminating in this regard: in 1955, this country had a GDP lower than that of most African countries, it lacked everything, and was emerging from a deadly war. Yet, through decisive strategic choices, focusing on education, work, collective discipline, and technological innovation, it has transformed itself from a poor agricultural country into Asia’s leading exporting power and is today among the most technologically advanced nations. This example should inspire us: nothing is impossible for a people who set a clear vision and commit to it consistently.

In Africa, what is lacking is not resources or talent, but the ability to make shared and sustainable strategic choices.

We talk a lot about the African Union, its visions and programs, but we must have the courage to admit that we too often remain at the protocol level. Agenda 2063 is full of ambitions, but it struggles to become an implemented roadmap. Too many regional committees overlap with African Union institutions without real coordination, and instead of building collective power, we foster dispersion and inefficiency.

Worse still, there are deep political divisions between our states. Some countries are mired in conflicts that paralyze any regional integration. Others refuse to engage in credible democratic processes, depriving their people of the trust and stability necessary for development. How can we seriously consider a continental development strategy when several of our nations are moving forward in a disjointed manner, with fragile governance and economies undermined by instability?

These contradictions appear like a burden we are dragging around. Must we then wait for other generations for Africa to finally take charge of its destiny? Or must a generation of true revolutionaries emerge today, not revolutionaries of slogans, but revolutionaries of governance, work, rigor, and political courage?

This leap forward is essential. For if we fail to transform the African Union into an effective, pragmatic, and credible instrument, we will continue to remain prisoners of disguised tutelage and external dependencies. The political unity of our continent cannot be a utopia postponed until tomorrow: it must be the foundation of our strategic choices starting today.

But without food sovereignty, no policy is viable. We must irrigate 5 million hectares, reduce our grain imports by 50% within five years, secure farmers’ incomes through appropriate insurance, and reduce post-harvest losses to less than 10%. Our natural resources must be sold at a fair price and processed on the continent. The objective must be clear: to locally process 50% of cotton, 40% of cocoa, and 60% of lithium within five years.

Finally, there will be no strategic autonomy without a genuine democracy, ensuring the alternation of power and respect for the suffrage of the sovereign people. No country has ever been able to develop sustainably without the trust of its people.

This is why I propose that Lomé soon host a Pan-African Conference for a Lomé Pact, which is intended to be an African initiative that builds on Agenda 2063 and the AfCFTA.

Indeed, these frameworks set lofty ambitions for the continent’s future, but what was lacking, in our view, was a more concrete and binding instrument to translate this vision into measurable, short-term results. The idea of ​​the pact is to fill this gap by setting specific commitments, accompanied by quantified objectives and tight deadlines, in strategic sectors such as education, research, energy, and economic integration.

The Lomé Pact is thus intended to be a tool for African transformation and will aim to bring together states, institutions, civil society, and youth around concrete commitments: to educate with 5% of GDP, to innovate with 1% for research, to irrigate 5 million hectares, to process 50% of our raw materials locally, and to guarantee democracy. It would be a collective contract, a clear roadmap, to show the world that Africa refuses to move from one guardianship to another and that it is finally taking its destiny into its own hands.

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Our continent must not only be proud of its wealth and its youth. It must also be demanding of itself. We must speak with one voice, act together, and capitalize on global rivalries. But above all, we must transform ourselves from within. This is the price to pay for Africa to no longer be merely the object of international rivalries, but a sovereign, modern, and indispensable power.

Before concluding, ladies and gentlemen, allow me, as I speak here in Lomé, to recall the memory of a great son of this country, who was also a great servant of Africa: Edem Kodjo. Former Secretary-General of the OAU and former Prime Minister of Togo, Edem Kodjo left his mark on his era with his constant commitment to African unity and dignity. An intellectual, politician, and visionary, he emphasized in his writings and actions that Pan-Africanism is not a utopia, but a historical imperative.

Finally, allow me to express my deep gratitude to the Togolese authorities, and in particular to my brother, Professor Robert Dussey, for the honor they have bestowed upon me by inviting me to deliver this inaugural lecture marking the start of the diplomatic season.

I am aware of the responsibility I bear in speaking here in Lomé, a land of dialogue and Pan-Africanism.

May we, together, build an Africa faithful to the memory of its great men, yet resolutely turned toward the future, an Africa that offers its youth not deferred promises, but concrete horizons of dignity, prosperity, and freedom.

Thank you.