A delegation of the Sudan Founding Alliance, also known as the Tasis government, led by Trade Minister Mohamed Ismail Arkan, presented the outcomes of its official visit to the Republic of Togo to Prime Minister Mohamed Hassan Al-Taishi in Nyala on Thursday, announcing an agreement to facilitate imports and exports through the Port of Lomé in Togo as an alternative to Port Sudan.
The Tasis Government (officially the Sudan Founding Alliance or Tasees) is a parallel administration formed in Sudan by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and their allied political and armed factions.
Dr Yagoub Nurein, a Foreign Ministry representative and member of the delegation, told Radio Tamazuj that the visit aimed at exploring opportunities for trade, political and diplomatic cooperation between the Government of Peace and the Togolese government.
“The purpose of the visit was to discuss trade, political and diplomatic cooperation between the Government of Peace and the Government of the Republic of Togo,” he said. “The delegation held a series of meetings with Togolese officials, focusing on economic cooperation and investment opportunities.”
According to Nurein, the discussions resulted in an agreement to open the Port of Lomé to import and export activities serving western Sudan.
He also said the delegation had reached an understanding with banking executives in Togo to establish bank branches in areas under the control of the Tasis administration.
Nurein described the agreements as part of broader efforts to establish bilateral relations based on mutual interests and strengthen economic ties between the two sides.
The delegation, headed by Trade Minister Mohamed Ismail and comprising Currency Council Chairman Hamid Jibril and a Foreign Ministry representative, reportedly received a warm welcome during its visit.
It subsequently held meetings with the political adviser to the Togolese president, the first secretary of the ruling party and several banking executives.
Nurein described the visit as productive and its outcomes as positive, highlighting Togo’s position as an influential African country and its role in peace efforts between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda.
He added that the delegation had requested the Togolese president to launch a diplomatic initiative aimed at ending the war in Sudan.
Traders and producers in western Sudan have suffered substantial financial losses following a 2024 decision prohibiting the transportation of goods to Port Sudan, which remains under the control of the Sudanese Armed Forces.
The restrictions have disrupted established trade routes and access to export markets, prompting the Tasis administration to explore alternative trade corridors through West African countries in an effort to mitigate losses incurred by traders and producers.
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