Togo: UPRAD-Togo joins FIATA, a new milestone for the transit sector

Togo is consolidating its position as a regional logistics hub in West Africa, driven by the Autonomous Port of Lomé, which serves landlocked Sahelian countries (Burkina Faso, Niger, Mali). Amid growing competition among West African ports (Abidjan, Tema, Cotonou), freight forwarding professionals are seeking to strengthen their international credibility. Against this backdrop, Togo's Professional Union of Licensed Customs Agents (UPRAD) has just joined the International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations (FIATA), based in Geneva. According to Financial Afrik, which interviewed Patrick Magnon, president of UPRAD-Togo, this accession 'is not an end in itself. It marks the beginning of a new stage,' he states. The source does not specify the exact date of accession nor the number of UPRAD member agents. For Togolese freight forwarders, this affiliation grants access to globally recognized FIATA documents and standards, easing cross-border trade and reassuring shippers and insurers. Beyond the symbolic gesture, the real challenge lies in implementation: training in FIATA standards, digitalization, and UPRAD's governance. The regional context - port rivalry, Sahelian instability - gives strategic value to this move. Whether it will translate into measurable gains in traffic or customs clearance times remains to be verified, as such data was not disclosed.