Business in Djibouti

The objectives of the subject “Foreign Trade and Business in the Republic of Djibouti” are the following:

1. To analyse the Djiboutian Economy and Foreign Trade (Import, Export, FDI)
2. To know the business opportunities in Djibouti
3. To explore the Djiboutian trade relations with the country of the student
4. To know the Djiboutian Free Trade Agreements
5. To analyse the importance of the Port of Djibouti
6. To develop a business plan for the Djiboutian Market

Preferential Access and Free Trade Agreements of Djibouti

1. Djibouti and the East African Economic Area
2. Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA)
3. Community of Sahel-Saharan States (CEN-SAD)
4. Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD)
5. COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite Trade Agreement
6. African Continental Free-Trade Area (AfCFTA)
7. European Union-Djibouti
   1. Africa-European Union Strategic Partnership (Cotonou Agreement)
   2. Generalised System of Preferences (GSP)
8. United States-Djibouti
   1. African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA)
   2. COMESA-United States Trade Agreement
9. Islamic Trade Preferential System (TPS-OIC)
10. Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA)
11. Islamic Centre for Development of Trade (ICDT)
12. Greater Arab Free-Trade Area (GAFTA) - not a member

Trade Facilitation Programs

1. World Trade Organisation (WTO)
   1. WTO General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS)
   2. WTO Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS)
   3. WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT)
   4. WTO Agreement on Preshipment Inspection (PSI)
   5. WTO Agreement on Safeguards (SG)
   6. WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA)
2. Is not a member of the World Customs Organisation (WCO)
   1. Revised Kyoto Convention (RKC)

Islamic Organisations. Djibouti is a member of:

1. Arab League (LAS)
2. Afro-Arab Cooperation
3. Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA)
4. Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)
   1. Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation
   2. Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI)
   3. Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries
5. Islamic Development Bank (IsDB)
6. Asia-Middle East Dialogue (Djibouti)
7. Summit of South American-Arab Countries (Djibouti)

African Trade and Economic Organisations

1. Economic Commission for Africa (ECA)
2. African Union (AU)
   1. African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption (not signed)
   2. African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD)
3. African Development Bank (AfDB)
4. Africa-Asia Strategic Partnership (NAASP)
5. Africa-Korea Partnership
6. Africa-Japan Cooperation (TICAD)
7. Africa-South America Summit (ASA)
8. Forum on China-Africa Cooperation
9. Africa-India Framework for Cooperation
10. Africa-BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa)
11. Africa-Turkey Partnership

Global Organisations

1. United Nations (UN)
   1. Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
   2. International Trade Centre (INTRACEN)
   3. World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO)
2. World Bank (WB)
3. World Trade Organisation (WTO)
4. International Monetary Fund (IMF)

Djibouti has a strategic location in the Horn of Africa.

The Republic of Djibouti

The Republic of Djibouti has an advantaged strategic location in the Horn of Africa and serves as a link for the interconnection with other member countries of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA).

1. Djiboutian Area: 23,200 square kilometres
2. Djibouti shares borders with Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somalia
3. Djiboutian Capital: Djibouti (21,200 people)
4. The official languages of Djibouti are Arabic, French and Somali
5. Djiboutian population: 890,000 people
6. Type of Government: Semi-Presidential Republic
7. Independence of Djibouti from France: 1977

More information about Djibouti​ (EENI African Portal).

Religion in Djibouti: Islam (94% of Djiboutian population).

1. Fiqh: Shafi'i
2. After the independence, the Republic of Djibouti built a legal system based partly on the Islamic Law
3. The Constitution of Djibouti states Islam as the only religion of the State, while it provides the equality of citizens of all faiths (Article 1) and freedom of religious practice (Article 11)

Djibouti belongs to the East African Economic Area (African Civilisation).

Djiboutian Economy:

1. The Republic of Djibouti wishes to leverage its strategic position to be a regional hub for the international trade, financial services, and telecommunications
2. This small country (890,000 inhabitants) is also characterised by a unique climate of security in this region
3. Djibouti has created an enabling a good environment for the foreign direct investment (FDI)
4. Around the Port of Djibouti and the Djibouti-Ethiopia Railway; it has been developed other key sectors: banking, insurance, and distribution
5. Djibouti, as other city-states like Singapore and Mauritius, wishes to take profit of its strategic position to become a regional centre in financial, logistics, and telecommunications sectors
6. The main trading partner of Djibouti is France; but like the rest of Africa, China is every day more important in Djibouti
7. The Republic of Djibouti offers access to many regional markets for companies seeking to expand their business.
8. Djibouti has preferential access to the countries of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), Arab world, the markets of the European Union, and the United States (AGOA)
9. The Djiboutian economy depends on the services sector (87% of the gross domestic product)
10. The Economic Growth of the port of Djibouti also has been allowed by substantial foreign investment from the United Arab Emirates; in 2000, Dubai Ports (the third world port operator), has obtained the control of the port
11. Headquarters of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD)