Video Speech by Mr. Aboubaker Omar Hadi, Chairman of Djibouti Ports and Free Zones Authority of Djibouti at China-Indian Ocean Region Forum on Development Cooperation

Video Speech by Mr. Aboubaker Omar Hadi, Chairman of Djibouti Ports and Free Zones Authority of Djibouti at China-Indian Ocean Region Forum on Development Cooperation

Kunming, Yunnan Province, China

21 November, 2022 

Excellency Luo Zhaohui, Chairman of CIDCA, 

Excellency Wang Yubo, Governor of Yunnan Province, 

Ladies and gentlemen, 

Greetings to all of you and a pleasure to join you in this China-Indian Ocean Region Development Cooperation event. As you know in 2013, since the President of the People's Republic of China H.E. Mr. Xi Jinping has launched the two very important major projects: the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. 

The 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, aims to strengthen strategic relations between the countries concerned within the framework of a blue partnership, which will allow both the protection and sustainable use of the oceans and their resources, in order to bring prosperity and development to all coastal states. 

It is  noteworthy that our country's experience strongly mirrors the perspectives in this area. 

Indeed, our economic potential is mainly based on our geographical position which is the crossroads for the three continents, Africa, Europe and Asia. Djibouti has a coastline of 372 kilometers and a total area of 7,190 square kilometers of waters under its jurisdiction. Also, it’s located at the entrance of the strait Bab EL Mandeb which is the entry point of the Red Sea and places Djibouti strategic position at the crossroad of one of the busiest shipping routes in the world. As the main gateway to the landlocked countries of the sub-region, the government of Djibouti has invested massively in port, logistics infrastructure and transport to position Djibouti as the commercial and logistics hub for East Africa Region and beyond. 

As such, Djibouti enjoys a major prospective growth in terms of blue economy with a unique marine and aquatic environment harboring a tremendous biodiversity and outstanding marine life, a key strategic position which provides an important economic capacity for maritime transport of goods, with 30 percent of the world's trade being carried out through this maritime route. 

Furthermore, our country also stands out in this aspect in many other sectors such as:

Fishing: boosted by a very suitable marine environment, which will have a positive impact on GDP in a very sustainable manner.

Tourism: Our seaside and marine sites have the potential of making our country to be one of the most sought-after tourist destinations.

Water supply: Through renewable energies such as the Doraleh and Ghoubet desalination plant which will be powered by renewable energy.

Telecommunications: We currently have 9 submarine cables, making Djibouti one of the most densely connected location.

We are also proud to offer considerable possibilities for renewable energies, such as floating photovoltaic solar, offshore wind in our seas and as well tidal energy in the Ghoubet, which are still very promising and exciting opportunities. These technologies are likely to give a new and sustainable dynamic to our economy to serve as a regional and global hub for the production, storage, export and bunkering of Green Hydrogen and Green Ammonia.

We can only grow keener than ever on the prospects for the blue economy in our country and pursue our efforts to further tap into this never-ending and exciting possibilities.

Thank you very much for your attention.