Relations between Togo and Germany today are close and friendly.

Germany supports the ambitious pro-development reform process in the country, as illustrated not least by Togo’s inclusion in the G20 initiative Compact with Africa in 2018 and by the agreement on a bilateral reform and investment partnership. Togo is seeking to step up cooperation with Germany and is keen to attract German investment.

Since 2012, Germany has been working on the following priorities in the field of development cooperation: good governance and decentralisation, agriculture and rural development, as well as sustainable economic development with a focus on vocational training and employment. These priorities are supplemented by activities in the fields of energy, digitalisation and health. In terms of funding, Germany is Togo’s largest bilateral donor.

The Hanns Seidel Foundation, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW) have, for example, offices in Togo. Various church-affiliated relief agencies and other political foundations are also active in the country.

There is room for improvement regarding Germany’s trade relations with Togo, however trade has been stepped up in recent years. In 2021, Germany exported goods valued at 72.4 million euro to Togo and imported goods worth 6.9 million euro, meaning Togo ranks 145th amongst Germany’s trading partners.

The Goethe-Institut in Lomé has been active since 1961. There are a number of partnerships between the University of Lomé and German universities, including Münster University of Applied Sciences, Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences, the University of Bayreuth, the University of Kassel and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. A German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) lector supports these partnerships. Five schools in Togo receive support as part of the Schools: Partners for the Future programme. In Togo, more than 80,000 pupils are learning German, while there are 1000 students studying German.

From 1884 to 1914, Togo was part of the German colonial empire.