You manage a large economic group, with the port of Djibouti at its centre. How would you describe the country's current development strategy?
Aboubaker Omar Hadi - Port activities are Djibouti's economic lifeblood, and always have been. The country's economy is based on the tertiary sector, services such as trade, finance and banking, and the transport sector, which accounts for more than 70 % of the country's economy. We have no agriculture and industry is in its infancy. We hope that with the free trade zone, industry will play an increasing role in the country's economy, but that will take time.
You manage a large economic group, with the port of Djibouti at its centre. How would you describe the country's current development strategy?
Aboubaker Omar Hadi - Port activities are Djibouti's economic lifeblood, and always have been. The country's economy is based on the tertiary sector, services such as trade, finance and banking, and the transport sector, which accounts for more than 70 % of the country's economy. We have no agriculture and industry is in its infancy. We hope that with the free trade zone, industry will play an increasing role in the country's economy, but it will take time to develop. For the moment, it's the maritime, land and rail infrastructures that count. As we always say to people who don't know the region: Djibouti is not a large market, but it is the gateway to a large market of ten or so landlocked countries, representing around 400 million consumers. What we're doing is enabling these countries to trade with the rest of the world.
Will the new free trade zones enable Djibouti to make an industrial transition?
A-O H - The two free zones are equally important. The first is a logistics, trade and light industry zone covering more than 4,800 hectares. We began by developing a 240-hectare pilot zone here, and we will continue to develop it in line with customer demand. We're trying to attract foreign companies to this free zone to produce goods for the African continent. Instead of producing elsewhere and transporting to African countries, production will take place in the Djibouti international free zone, and from there we will supply neighbouring countries and countries on the Red Sea. The second free zone specialises in heavy industry: steel, cement, oil refineries, ship repair yards, covering an area of 3,096 hectares. These zones will not be in competition with each other, but will complement each other.
What is your analysis of China's interest in Djibouti through the Silk Roads?
A-O H - The Silk Roads have a long history, especially in our region of East Africa, which already traded with China by sea and land six centuries ago. China wanted to revive these routes. The idea is to focus on transport and renewable energy. Each country can decide how to make the most of the opportunities offered by the Silk Roads: not through donations, but through low-interest loans over long periods, which it must be sure of being able to repay. But Africa is geographically at the centre of the planet and any infrastructure can benefit the rest of the world. This infrastructure is something that Africa really needs if it is to develop. For example, the railway linking Djibouti to Ethiopia is not planned to stop at the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, but to cross the entire continent and continue towards the Atlantic, as far as the Gulf of Guinea. The aim is to link the Red Sea to the Atlantic. It's going to take many years: it's a huge project.
