The Monaco Economic Board recently visited the East African nation of Djibouti, gateway to the second busiest maritime route in the world, where a delegation sought out new business opportunities and built on cross-nation ties.
The Monaco Economic Board was on the road from 7th to 9th February, when a delegation travelled to Djibouti, located on the Horn of Africa and at the crossroads of the continent, the Arabian Peninsula and Europe via the Suez Canal.
The trip was co-organised with the Monegasque Entrepreneurs Club in Africa (CEMA) and supported by the Embassy of Djibouti in Monaco. In all, a dozen representatives from the Principality visited this small coastal country with an eye to building on the relationships hatched last May when a delegation of Djiboutians was received in Monaco.
The visit confirmed the potential for future opportunities, with both countries sharing many attributes, not least of which are political stability, diversity, openness to the world and modest land masses. Djibouti’s appeal is enhanced by its modern deep-water port complex, a dry port and free zones as well as a monetary system backed by the US dollar, making it attractive for financial sector development deals.
The organisers on the ground were Youssouf Moussa Dawaleh, the president of the Djibouti Chamber of Commerce, along with his team, and the event took place with the blessing of the president of the republic, Ismaïl Omar Guelleh.
During one stage of the visit, Prime Minister Abdoulkader Kamil Mohamed spoke to the assembled group, explaining the virtues of doing business in his country, as did Minister of Trade and Tourism Mohamed Warsama Dirieh and Governor of the Central Bank Ahmed Osman.
The Monegasque delegation was made up of entrepreneurs from the legal, security, ICT, import and export, transport, space, and financial service sectors. All were invited to visit the major port facilities and free zones, the Climate Observatory and Djibouti’s telecommunication infrastructure sites.
Another highlight of this trip was, for Executive Director General of the Monaco Economic Board Guillaume Rose and President of CEMA Frédéric Geerts, a special reception with Djibouti’s president, where the three men discussed the possibilities of developing economic exchanges and strategic cooperation in scientific research, notably relating to climate change and the environment.
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Photo source: Monaco Economic Board