{"id":9350,"date":"2022-06-27T12:45:11","date_gmt":"2022-06-27T12:45:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/west-african-states-gabon-and-togo-join-commonwealth"},"modified":"2022-06-27T13:28:53","modified_gmt":"2022-06-27T13:28:53","slug":"west-african-states-gabon-and-togo-join-commonwealth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/west-african-states-gabon-and-togo-join-commonwealth","title":{"rendered":"West African states Gabon and Togo join Commonwealth"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Botswana. <\/strong><\/span>Gabon and Togo joined the Commonwealth on Saturday, becoming the latest nations with no historic ties to Britain to enter the English-speaking club headed by Queen Elizabeth II.<\/b><\/p>\n

The 54-nation group of mostly former British colonies accepted Togo and Gabon’s application for membership on the final day of its leadership summit in Rwanda.<\/p>\n

“We have admitted Gabon and Togo as new members, and we all welcome them to the Commonwealth family,” Rwandan President Paul Kagame said at the closing press conference.<\/p>\n

The French-speaking West African states are the first new members to join the Commonwealth since Rwanda in 2009.<\/p>\n

Togo’s Foreign Minister Robert Dussey said membership opened the door to 2.5 billion consumers in the Commonwealth realm, offered new education opportunities, and tapped a “craze” for English among his countrymen.<\/p>\n

“Togo’s membership is motivated by the desire to expand its diplomatic, political, and economic network… as well as to get closer to the English-speaking world,” he told AFP.<\/p>\n

It also allowed the small and developing nation of 8.5 million to redefine bilateral relations with the UK outside the European Union in the aftermath of Brexit, he added.<\/p>\n

Francophone states have also sought Commonwealth membership in recent years to pivot away from France, analysts said.<\/p>\n

Togolese political scientist Mohamed Madi Djabakate said the move would prove popular as French influence in Togo was often blamed for its economic woes.<\/p>\n

“Togo joining the Commonwealth is better for many people than sharing the French language and culture, which at the end of the day has not promoted development,” he told AFP.<\/p>\n

– ‘Making history’ –<\/b><\/p>\n

Rwanda’s own membership came at a time of immense strain between Kigali and Paris, and the east African state has forged close ties with the UK in the years after its admission, including a controversial migrant deal agreed this year.<\/p>\n

Gabonese President Ali Bongo said his country was “making history” by joining the group.<\/p>\n

“Sixty-two years after its Independence, our country is getting ready to breakthrough with a new chapter,” Bongo said in a statement on Twitter.<\/p>\n

“It’s a world of opportunities for Gabon on the economic, diplomatic & cultural levels.”<\/p>\n

Their admission is a boon for the Commonwealth at a time of renewed discussion over its relevance and purpose.<\/p>\n

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the interest from new members proved the organisation was alive and well.<\/p>\n

But it could also raise questions about the Commonwealth’s espoused commitment to good governance and democracy as fundamental values of its charter.<\/p>\n

Oil-rich Gabon, a former French colony on the Atlantic Ocean, has been ruled by the Bongo family for 55 years.<\/p>\n

Ali Bongo took over after his father’s death and was returned to power in 2016 following an election marred by deadly violence and allegations of fraud.<\/p>\n

Togo, a former German then French colony, has also been under dynastic rule for more than half a century.<\/p>\n

General Gnassingbe Eyadema governed with an iron fist from 1967 until his death in 2005, upon which his son Faure Gnassingbe took power.<\/p>\n

He was re-elected in polls that were all contested by the opposition.<\/p>\n

Born out of the British Empire, the Commonwealth represents one-third of humanity and spans nations across Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas.<\/p>\n

Mozambique — a former Portuguese colony — became the first Commonwealth member without historic links to Britain when it joined in 1995.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Botswana<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Botswana. Gabon and Togo joined the Commonwealth on Saturday, becoming the latest nations with no historic ties to Britain to enter the English-speaking club headed by Queen Elizabeth II. The 54-nation group of mostly former British colonies accepted Togo and Gabon’s application for membership on the final day of its leadership summit in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":9349,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,8,12,16],"tags":[233,237,234],"class_list":["post-9350","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-homepage-english","category-policy","category-twitter","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-botswana","tag-botswana"],"yoast_head":"\nWest African states Gabon and Togo join Commonwealth - Botswana<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Gabon and Togo joined the Commonwealth on Saturday, becoming the latest nations with no historic ties to Britain to e ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/west-african-states-gabon-and-togo-join-commonwealth\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"West African states Gabon and Togo join Commonwealth\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Gabon and Togo joined the Commonwealth on Saturday, becoming the latest nations with no historic ties to Britain to e ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/west-african-states-gabon-and-togo-join-commonwealth\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Botswana\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-06-27T12:45:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-06-27T13:28:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/botswana\/sites\/38\/2022\/06\/postQueueImg_9-62b9b06fea119.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"480\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/west-african-states-gabon-and-togo-join-commonwealth#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/west-african-states-gabon-and-togo-join-commonwealth\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"West African states Gabon and Togo join Commonwealth\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-06-27T12:45:11+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-06-27T13:28:53+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/west-african-states-gabon-and-togo-join-commonwealth\"},\"wordCount\":575,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/west-african-states-gabon-and-togo-join-commonwealth#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/botswana\/sites\/38\/2022\/06\/postQueueImg_9-62b9b06fea119.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Botswana\",\"Botswana\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"homepage-english\",\"policy\",\"twitter\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/west-african-states-gabon-and-togo-join-commonwealth#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/west-african-states-gabon-and-togo-join-commonwealth\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/west-african-states-gabon-and-togo-join-commonwealth\",\"name\":\"West African states Gabon and Togo join Commonwealth - 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