At the FII PRIORITY Europe 2026 summit in Rome, held from June 17 to 19, Togo’s Prime Minister Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé took center stage to advocate for a revitalized economic partnership between Africa and Europe. As the guest of honor at this high-profile forum focused on European competitiveness, he highlighted Togo’s strategic role as a regional logistics hub poised to transform global value chains.
Rome summit gathers leaders to redefine Europe’s economic future
On June 17, 2026, Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé, Togo’s Prime Minister, addressed participants at the Waldorf Astoria Rome Cavalieri during the FII PRIORITY Europe summit. Arriving in Rome the day before, he was invited by Yasir ben Othman Al-Rumayyan, Governor of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and Chairman of the FII Institute, the event’s organizer.
The summit, themed “Europe Reinvented: Capital, Sovereignty, and Strategic Autonomy”, explored financing models for reindustrialization, supply chain resilience, and the future of work in an AI-driven economy. Organizers projected the eurozone’s growth at 1.2% for 2026, with the potential to mobilize an additional €800 billion in private investments over the next decade.
Togo positions itself as Africa’s gateway for European investors
In his address, Gnassingbé underscored the untapped potential of Africa-Europe economic collaboration. With some of the world’s fastest-growing economies, Africa offers a prime destination for investment flows, infrastructure development, and deeper regional integration, he noted.
Togo, he emphasized, is leveraging its position as a regional logistics leader. Lomé’s autonomous port, expanding industrial zones, and business climate reforms are designed to attract more foreign direct investment (FDI) and strengthen trade corridors linking the country to its hinterland.
“A natural gateway to West Africa’s hinterland, fostering shared growth,” declared Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé, Togo’s Prime Minister.
Lomé’s connectivity push: Diplomacy meets economic strategy
This Rome visit follows a flurry of diplomatic activity in Lomé, where Gnassingbé inaugurated the first African Air Transport Convention and Exhibition just three days earlier. These coordinated efforts reflect Togo’s commitment to making connectivity—port, air, and digital—a cornerstone of its national development agenda.