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Djibouti invites Saudis to invest in Africa’s largest free trade zone

 Top Djibouti officials on Tuesday invited Saudi investors to invest in the international free trade zone, which “is a large gateway to an African market of about 1.3 billion people, and ready with appropriate infrastructure.”  

Djibouti Ports and Free Zones Authority Chairman Aboubaker Omar Hadi in presence of Djibouti Ambassador Dya-Eddine Said Bamakhrama met members of the Saudi business community at the Federation of Saudi Chambers. 

During the meeting, they reviewed opportunities in the field of ports, logistics, and free zones.

The Djibouti officials highlighted the international free trade zone in Djibouti, which is the largest in Africa and is strategically located between the trade routes in the East and the West, where more than $2 trillion of goods pass annually.

FSC Secretary-General Hussein Al-Abdulqader praised the historical relations between the Kingdom and Djibouti, stressing the need to take advantage of the available investment capabilities and opportunities and competitive advantages to develop more commercial and investment partnership projects and raise the volume of trade between the two countries, which has grown to about SR7 billion ($1.86 billion) with a growth rate of 103 percent in 2021 compared to 2020.

“There is still a great opportunity to increase it in line with the efforts made and the investment opportunities available,” said Al-Abdulqader.

 On Monday, the DPFZA chairman and the Djibouti ambassador held meetings with officials of several government entities such as the Public Investment Fund, the Exports Development Authority, the Saudi EXIM Bank, and the Ministry of Industry and Minerals.

 “The DPFZA team presented the different investment opportunities in Djibouti, mainly in the logistics sector, free zones, and the petrochemical industries, and the Saudi team expressed their interest vis-à-vis the facilitation that could be offered to the potential Saudi investors in Djibouti,” Bamakhrama told Arab News.

 The DPFZA delegation also held a meeting with the Ministry of Environment, Water, and Agriculture, during which they discussed livestock operation’s improvement through accurate liaison between importers and exporters via Djibouti ports infrastructure.

 The Saudi side said a new livestock transport service linking Djibouti Port to Jazan Port is in progress which will act as a distribution center to the Gulf region.

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Djibouti launches development plan

Djibouti has launched the final implementation of the National Development Plan (NDP) for the period 2020-2024: “Djibouti ICI”.

This is a particularly ambitious plan, based on three strategic axes: Inclusion – Connectivity – Institutions.

The plan fits into the Vision 2035 framework, the future strategy defined by President Ismaïl Omar Guelleh. And a plan that builds on the country’s strengths, on its will to emerge and modernize, in line with the demands of our time.

In a complex region, Djibouti is working to consolidate its status as a pole of stability, security, and development.

The previous first five-year plan (2015-2019) made it possible to exceed the growth targets and set up essential infrastructures with the completion of new port areas, free zones and the Djibouti-Addis Ababa railway line.

The Covid 19 pandemic, as elsewhere, strongly impacted this positive cycle. The adverse effects of this crisis have been contained thanks to the 2020 National Solidarity Pact (NSP).

This NPS, which has been included in Djibouti ICI, has allowed the country to underline the resilience of its model.

The launch of Djibouti ICI symbolizes the country’s willingness to move forward again, while addressing the structural challenges facing the nation in terms of social inclusiveness, infrastructure, sustainable development and governance.

Djibouti ICI focuses on three interdependent and priority axes. The first axis (inclusion) aims to adopt an inclusive model and ensure a better distribution of growth.

The second (connectivity) aims to ensure better national integration and strengthen Djibouti’s position as a hub of the continental economy.

The third (institutions) aims to consolidate the realization of rights and freedoms, democracy and public transparency, while strengthening social cohesion.

The overall budget for the NDP 2020-2024 is estimated at 2,482 billion FDJ (€ 12 billion). The objective is to achieve an average growth rate of 8.5% in 2025, with a significant expansion of the private sector.

These objectives require a major effort in terms of economic governance and the mobilization of internal and external financial resources.

This approach is not new. For more than two decades, the country has been committed to this ambitious model. Djibouti has established itself as a key logistics and port hub.

Overall wealth has more than doubled since 2000. And today, to increase the competitiveness of the economy, several major projects have been launched.

This is the case of the Damerjog industrial park, of the new infrastructures in the field of shipbuilding and oil terminals, and the transformation of the historic port into an international business district. Studies for the construction of a new international airport have also been launched.

The NDP 2020-2024 is a new tool to serve this national ambition, which is to make Djibouti an emerging nation, open to modernity and fully concerned about the well-being of all its citizens.