Ambassador Gilmour will highlight commercial and investment opportunities in Togo. Togo was the ninth largest market in sub-Saharan Africa last year for U.S. exporters ahead of larger countries like Cameroon, Tanzania, and Senegal. Leading segments within the U.S. total export value of $243.4 million were oil, motor vehicles and parts, food, and chemicals. In 2013 and 2014 U.S. exports to Togo exceeded $1 billion annually.

After years of relative economic under performance, Togo recently has implemented various reforms to make the country more attractive to foreign investment. Foreign investment has increased over the last few years, signaling rising investor confidence and highlighting Togo's emergence from years of political and economic isolation. To complement its business reforms, Togo continued its ambitious plan of infrastructure modernization to develop and leverage Lomé's position as a regional trading center and transport hub. Togo has also completed hundreds of kilometers of refurbished roadways, expanded and modernized of the Port of Lomé, and made significant progress on a new international airport terminal. The IMF forecasts that the Togolese economy will grow 5 percent this year and 5.5 percent in both 2018 and 2019.