Togo and Rwanda have signed a reciprocal visa waiver agreement covering all passport types.

The deal was signed late last week in Lomé by the two countries’ foreign ministers, Robert Dussey and Olivier Nduhungirehe.

The agreement aims to ease travel, boost economic exchanges, support tourism, and strengthen people-to-people and cultural ties between Lomé and Kigali.

 It comes as both countries seek to deepen cooperation in strategic areas including digital technology, agriculture, trade, investment, green finance, and energy, an ambition they reaffirmed in January 2025.

The visa waiver is expected to help turn those plans into action by cutting red tape for businesspeople and investors.

It also builds on talks held in August 2024 in Kigali during President Paul Kagame’s inauguration, when Togolese President Faure Gnassingbé urged both sides to diversify their partnership and seize opportunities under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

Togo and Rwanda have also been linked since 2018 by an air services agreement allowing RwandAir and Lomé-based ASKY Airlines to operate direct flights between the two capitals with no limits on frequency.