![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.vujic-geopolitika.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/BL-SVETSKO-MORE-25-8-25-Luka-Lome-Wikimedia-800x258.webp\")
<\/p>\nIn fairy tales, the West African state of Togo (57,000 square kilometres, about eight million inhabitants) would be called a “tiny country”. which was, by its standards, visited by a record 55 000 tourists last year.<\/p>\n
In geopolitics, Togo is a potential giant in the oil-bearing Gulf of Guinea, around which Moscow and Washington are currently measuring their influence. And that, primarily because of the port of Lome on the Atlantic, the only deep port (about 17 meters) in West Africa, capable of accepting mega-merchant ships of the latest generation, capable of carrying about 14,000 containers. The port of Lome is\u2014opposite the “competition” in that region: Abidjan (C\u00f4te d’Ivoire), Lagos (Nigeria), Tema (Ghana), Dakar (Senegal)\u2014from certain large cities in the hinterland by road less than a day’s drive, which greatly accelerates the supply of a wide range of goods from abroad.<\/p>\n
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For example, the port of Lome is 200 kilometres from Accra, the capital of Ghana, 150 kilometres from Cotonou, the largest city in neighbouring Benin, and about 750 kilometres from Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, with a population of over twenty million. The fifth busiest port in Africa (and among the first 100 in the world, according to “Lloyd”), the port of Lome this month also received a floating terminal for storing about 160,000 tons of fuel. According to observers, this should ensure the uninterrupted supply of a number of key markets of the Black Continent: from the hinterland in the Sahel, to Ghana, and far to the south, to the Republic of South Africa and Mozambique.<\/p>\n
The geopolitical importance of the port of Lome has recently been in the focus of foreign strategists, some of whom are also considering the possibility of installing military stations “somewhere” along the Atlantic coast of Africa: from Walvis Bay in Namibia to the Gulf of Guinea.<\/p>\n
The focus on the port of Lome has been particularly intensified since June, when Togo and Russia concluded a bilateral agreement on military cooperation, which includes joint training, supply of army equipment and support in emergency medical situations.<\/p>\n
And, even more so, after the first official consultations between the heads of the defence ministries of Russia and member countries of the Confederation of Sahel States, which since last year includes Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, were held in Moscow in mid-August. On that occasion, Andrey Belousov, the Minister of Defence of Russia, announced \u201ccomprehensive help” from Moscow to ensure stability in the troubled region, which is facing a jihadist offensive across the Sahara, and the threat of its expansion to the shores of Atlantic Africa.<\/p>\n
“Does Moscow intend to offer Togo membership in the new military alliance it has achieved with Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso?” asked the “Miami Herald” recently.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Richard C. Michaels, Charg\u00e9 d’Affaires of the US Embassy in Togo visited the port in the capital Lome last month, describing it as “win\u2014win ” for bilateral trade. Michaels particularly pointed out the potential of the port of Lome due to its deep water capabilities and access to markets in Africa, which is why he invited US companies to explore investments. \u201cThe port of Lome is a vital logistical crossroads connecting the region and the Sahel\u201d, Michaels noted on the occasion.<\/p>\n
It is now up to official Lom\u00e9 to weigh these new signals from Moscow and Washington.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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