1 – Togo and the African Union, as part of the 2021-2031 Agenda of the “Decade of African Roots and the African Diaspora”, proceeded, on Monday, May 22, 2023 in Lomé, to the official launch of the 9th Pan-African Congress scheduled for 2024 on the theme “Renewal of Pan-Africanism and Africa’s Role in the Reform of Multilateral Institutions: mobilizing resources and reinventing Itself to act”.
2 – The launching ceremony presided, on behalf of H.E. Mr. Faure Essozimna GNASSINGBE, President of the Republic, by H.E. Mrs. Victoire TOMEGAH-DOGBE, Prime Minister and Head of Government, was marked by the presence of members of the Togolese Government, Presidents of the institutions of the Republic, as well as other personalities from the African Union, of the continent, African diasporas and communities of Afro-descendants.
3 – The launching ceremony was marked by several speeches and H.E. Mrs. Victoire TOMEGAH-DOGBE, in her speech, thanked the African Union and its Member States for the choice of Togo to host the 9th Pan-African Congress which will be the privileged opportunity for the Africans living on the continent and outside Africa (the diaspora and Afro-descendants) to question the question of their future in an increasingly unstable world, marked by multiple crises and in full reconfiguration.
4 – According to the Prime Minister, the current context is that of the renewal of Pan-Africanism and the9th Congress will not only respond to the need to ensure historical continuity to the Pan-African movement, but also reaffirm its unavoidable importance in the efforts and collective impetus of the peoples of Africa and the African diasporas for a better representation of the continent in the multilateral institutions for international cooperation and for its equitable participation in global governance.
5 – Speaking on behalf of the African Union Commission, H.E. Dr Monique NSANZABAGANWA, Vice-Chairperson of the Commission of the Continental Institution, praised the leadership of H.E. Faure Essozimna GNASSINGBE and Togolese diplomacy on the issue of African diasporas and recalled the importance that the AU accords Pan-Africanism, the African diaspora and Afro-descendants in its Agenda 2063. According to her, the project of organizing the9th Pan-African Congress meets current challenges and the African Renaissance is only possible within the framework of a renewed Pan-Africanism adapted to our time.
6 – In their speeches, H.E. Mrs Naledi PANDOR, Minister for International Relations and Cooperation of South Africa, and H.E. Mr Jean-Claude GAKOSSO, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Franceand Congolese Abroad, welcomed Togo’s pan-African commitment respectively. H.E. Mrs. Naledi PANDOR highlighted the contemporary importance of Pan-Africanism and the determination of her country to work alongside Togo and the AU for the success of the 9th Pan-African Congress. As for H.E. Mr. Jean-Claude GAKOSSO, he stressed the relevance of this edition of the Congress which will federate energies around the issues of continental development and representativeness of Africa in global governance.
7 – In his speech on the occasion, H.E. Prof. Robert DUSSEY, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and Togolese Abroad, outlined the next steps in the preparations for the Lomé Congress, which will accelerate through a series of activities, including the installation of members of the International Committee of the Congress, the mobilization and international communication campaign, the installation of subcommittees in charge of thematic work and the tour of the renewal of Pan-Africanism in several countries of the continent and in diasporas.
8 – The launch ceremony follows Decision Assembly/AU/Dec.22(XXXVI) of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the AU meeting at its 36th Ordinary Session on 18 and 19 February 2023 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, through which it requested Togo to organize, in collaboration with the AU Commission, the 9th edition of the Pan-African Congress.
9 – The Lomé Congress in 2024 will be the 4th Pan-African Congress held on the continent after the 6th Congress in Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, the 7th in Kampala in Uganda and the 8th in Johannesburg in South Africa. The first five Pan-African Congresses were held outside Africa including the 1st in Paris in 1919, the 2nd in London, Brussels and Paris, the 3rd in London and Lisbon, the 4th in New York and the 5th in Manchester.
