The Union of Customs Brokers of Togo (UPRAD-TOGO) announced on Thursday, July 23, its membership in the International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations (FIATA), the leading organization in the international transport, logistics, and transit sector based in Geneva. The country thus becomes the very first in Francophone West Africa to have an association that is a member of FIATA.
This membership was approved by the organization’s general assembly on June 26, 2026, and has been officially effective since July 1, 2026, according to details communicated by Patrick Magnon, president of UPRAD-Togo, to the press.
For the organization, this integration marks the culmination of a process that has been ongoing for several years. UPRAD notably highlights the cooperation established with the Ghana Institute of Freight Forwarders (GIFF) after a visit by this organization to Togo in September 2023, followed by the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the two parties on September 29, 2025, in Lomé. UPRAD’s participation in the FIATA World Congress in Vietnam in 2025, and a meeting at the federation’s headquarters in Geneva in April 2026, also contributed to advancing the matter.
In his speech, the president of UPRAD-TOGO presented this membership as a strategic step for the profession and for positioning Togo as a logistics and commercial platform. “We are convinced that the ambition to strengthen the competitiveness of our port and make Togo a logistics hub does not rely solely on infrastructure. It also relies on the quality, competence, and professionalism of the actors in the foreign trade chain. The licensed customs broker occupies a particular position in this regard,” he said.
As a reminder, FIATA is the largest global non-governmental organization representing the transport and logistics sector. Founded in 1926, it brings together millions of freight forwarding companies worldwide and sets international trade standards. Its main role is to facilitate global trade by standardizing transport documents and advocating for the profession’s interests with global institutions.
