Djibouti's Global Connections to Develop Strategic Business Ties

Djibouti: Leadership and Opportunity in the Horn of Africa 

Djibouti leader visiting France has diplomatic immunity

Editorial Edited by: Dr.Abdullahi Mohamed 

In-Depth Coverage

Djibouti (HAN) August 11, 2004 ---Djibouti President Ismael Omar Guelleh, wanted for questioning in connection with the death of a French judge in 1995, will have diplomatic immunity when he visits France this weekend, officials said. "Every foreign head of state visiting France has diplomatic immunity," French foreign ministry spokeswoman Cecile Pozzo di Borgo told a press conference. "It's a fundamental principle of international law The President of Djibouti, Mr Ismail Omar Guelleh, will be in southern France at the weekend to attend ceremonies marking the 60th

Guelleh will be in southern France at the weekend to attend ceremonies marking the 60th anniversary of the Allied landings in Provence, in which soldiers from Djibouti, a former French colony in east Africa, participated.  

Lawyers for the widow of French judge Bernard Borrel, who died in suspicious circumstances in 1995 in Djibouti, want to question Guelleh about the judge's demise, sources close to the investigation said.  Borrel, whose charred remains were found near the capital Djibouti, was initially thought to have committed suicide, but experts have now suggested to French magistrates looking into the case that Borrel may have been murdered.  

Earlier this year, declassified documents from France's foreign intelligence service DGSE revealed that two witnesses told French agents that Borrel had been assassinated for political reasons on the orders of Guelleh's entourage.  

At the time of Borrel's death, Guelleh was then president Hassan Gouled Aptidon's chief of staff.  The witnesses said Borrel - who had been advising Djibouti's justice ministry - allegedly had evidence that suggested Guelleh's involvement in either arms trafficking or in a 1990 attack on a Djibouti restaurant.  

.   Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld (center) meets with Djibouti President Ismail Omar Guelleh (right) at the Presidential residence in Djibouti on. Rumsfeld is visiting Djibouti and other countries at the Horn of Africa, to meet with local leaders and U.S. personnel deployed there. Minister of Defense Ougoureh Kifleh (left) joined Rumsfeld and Guelleh in the meeting.

Djibouti seeks salvation through salt 

Djibouti (HAN) August 11, 2004
 Salt flats are empty now that Ethiopia no longer imports salt, country struggles to revive industry. One hour after sunrise and Djibouti's Lake Assal -- Africa's lowest point and the world's saltiest lake -- is completely quiet, save for the crunch of salt under foot and sound of the seasonal "khamsin" wind. 

Only a few years ago, these caramel-colored salt flats were a busy mix of man and machinery mining almost 500 tons of salt a day for sale in neighboring Ethiopia. 

Today Ethiopia has its own heavily protected salt industry and Djibouti's saline exports have slowed to the point of collapse. 


A tiny trickle of Afar nomads still visit the lake's enormous shore, as they have done for centuries, digging the salt with their hands and piling it on camels for the long desert trek to Ethiopian markets. 

On a recent morning the only Afars in sight were a small, ragged bunch of dark, wiry men sitting around in stone huts at the top of the lake, selling marble-sized balls of salt to the occasional visitor, and staring into space. 

Six years ago, salt production at the lake turned industrial when Ethiopia and Eritrea began fighting over a border town, and Ethiopia lost its Eritrean source of salt. 

Demand for Djibouti's salt rocketed, employing some 1,000 people and offering hope that the desperate levels of illiteracy and malnutrition among the local Afar population might somehow be reduced. 

Today, piles of dirty salt lie abandoned beside diggers and the occasional truck. 

"The situation is seriously not like before," said Ibrahim Badul, government salt controller in Layta village. 

Production, prices tumble
The village is a collection of stone huts, corrugated shacks, and the occasional hangar where the salt is packed into sacks before being exported to Ethiopia. 

A few years ago, about 20 salt-laden lorries travelled to Ethiopia every day. Badul now inspects just a handful of trucks a week. 

Salt production at Lake Assal peaked in 2001, at 173,100 tons, and prices tumbled from $50 a ton to $24. 

"They found salt in Ethiopia. The salt in Ethiopia is cheaper than here, so they do not buy salt any more," Badul said. 

Ethiopia has been taxing Djibouti's salt imports at 53 percent since October 2003. 

Ambassa Mohamed, owner of K Salt Trading Company -- one of 26 companies licensed to mine salt -- said he has exported nothing to Ethiopia for the past seven or eight months.


"We are looking for other clients, but the closest, biggest market is Ethiopia," he said. 

Aden Cher Abdoulkarim, adviser to Djibouti's Minister of Energy and Natural Resource, said the government wants to find other markets to improve the state of the industry. 

"It is an inexhaustible and easily accessible mineral, and everybody in the region needs salt," he said. 

Plans for revival
Djibouti hopes to export the salt to other countries in the COMESA trade bloc that stretches from Egypt in the north of Africa to Namibia in the south. 

And the government is keeping an eye on its regional competitors. 

A 2003 Finance Ministry report noted that Yemen's iodized salt is twice as expensive as uniodized salt from Djibouti, but Eritrea might one day be a serious competitor again. 

The same report insists that if Djibouti can keep reducing production costs, it will remain competitive in the region. 

Djibouti is working to cut its transport costs, which are a significant profitability factor when commodity prices are low. 

The ramshackle, 485-mile Djibouti-Ethiopian railway and its road links receive donor and private-sector money, making transport easier and more efficient. 

And Arab-funded know-how is boosting Djibouti's port and attached free trade zone. 

"As the free zone grows, a higher volume of trade means more shipping connections, more competition, and dramatically lower logistics costs in and out of Djibouti," said Simon Sonoo, free trade zone manager for Dubai Ports International. 

The Horn of Africa File (Iranian Visit):

Djibouti keen to develop strategic ties

Djibouti and USA The  President Ismail Omar Guelleh (R) meets U.S. Congressman Donald Payne in Djibouti this morning August 9, 2004. Payne is currently visiting the area, to assess what is happening in the region and to express the United States' appreciation for the cooperation that Djibouti has shown American interests in the region. The U.S. currently has approximately 1,500 troops based in Djibouti, as part of the ongoing war against terrorism. President Ismail Omar Guelleh (R) meets U.S. Congressman Donald Payne

The GEESKA AFRIKA MAGAZINE'S Archives for the IGAD Zone- Djibouti

Djibouti And India The President of Djibouti, Mr Ismail Omar Guelleh, being welcomed by the Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Mr Shripad Yesso Naik, at a meeting in New Delhi  DJIBOUTI has sought Indian expertise in certain critical areas. Addressing captains of industry here, the President of Djibouti, Mr Ismail Omar Guelleh, said that his Government was keen to forge a strategic alliance with India. "We are keen to develop cooperation and partnership with India," Mr Guelleh said. The visiting dignitary also expressed the hope that his current visit to India would help create opportunities for both the nations while strengthening cooperation between them. The meeting had been jointly organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). The President of Djibouti, Mr Ismail Omar Guelleh, being welcomed by the Minister of State for Civil Aviation

Iran:

Visiting president of Djibouti, Ismail Omar Guelle  met and conferred with Iranian foreign minister, Dr Kamal Kharrazi.
The two sides discussed and exchanged views on bilateral relations, ways to expand ties in economic, political, and cultural arenas, latest developments in the region as well as the situation in the Horn of Africa.
Dr Kharrazi assessed the visit by Mr Guelle to the Islamic Republic as positive, and emphasized on the importance of implementation of the agreements reached between the two countries.
Dr Kharrazi pointed to willingness and readiness of Iranian productive and industriasl companies, including the ones involved in road construction, production of pharmaceuticals and medical equipments to offer services and experiences to Djibouti, and said: In case the required financial resources are secured by related international organizations, the scope of bilateral cooperation will be further extended.

To " winning the first war of the 21st century,"The President Bush Meets with Leaders of Kenya and Ethiopia in 2002 .."We welcome two strong friends of America here; two leaders of countries which have joined us in the -- to fight the global war on terror; two steadfast allies, two people that the American people can count on when it comes to winning the first war of the 21st century," said President Bush during their meeting in the Cabinet Room.

President George W. Bush President Daniel arap Moi of Kenya, left, and Prime Minister Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia