DJIBOUTI CITY, May 14 (Xinhua) -- Djiboutian President Ismail Omar Guelleh said on Monday that his country is working to diversify the economy to become a regional hub for logistics, finance, tourism, and information and communications technology (ICT).
The president made the remarks while addressing the inaugural edition of the Djibouti Forum, an international business conference that aims to engage private and institutional investors in transforming the country's economy.
Guelleh said Djibouti is ready to partner with international investors to expand its private sector and diversify its economy. He stressed that the Red Sea country, with its huge economic potential attributed to its strategic geopolitical position, is working hard to consolidate its position as a logistics, commercial, and digital hub for the region and beyond.
Noting that recent geopolitical shocks have made it important for Djibouti to diversify its economy, Guelleh said the country has introduced several initiatives to enhance its ability to withstand external shocks.
"Djibouti's location on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the southern end of the Red Sea means that it lies on the main shipping routes between Asia and Europe, with almost a third of the world's seaborne trade passing by its shores. This presents a unique opportunity for investors to co-invest with the government in the country's ports and logistics sector," he said.
Introducing the country's development blueprint, Vision 2035, Guelleh said Djibouti aspires to create an attractive investment climate across various economic sectors, including port development, logistics, finance, tourism, and ICT, to diversify its economy.
In 2020, Djibouti established a sovereign wealth fund designed to co-invest and take equity stakes in certain projects.
"It is essential to accelerate our modernization. It is on this basis that the sovereign wealth fund of Djibouti was created. The fund opens the way for the emergence of Djibouti as a hub of excellence," said the president.
The two-day forum, held under the theme "Djibouti: The Gateway of Opportunities," brought together political and business leaders from Africa and beyond, as well as representatives of different international financial institutions. The forum envisaged showcasing the potential and prospects of Djibouti and the African continent at large.
Experts and policymakers attending the forum underscored Djibouti's positive long-term economic prospects, supported by investments in human resources and infrastructure.
Slim Feriani, chief executive officer of the sovereign wealth fund of Djibouti, said the country has all the fundamentals for rapid transformation, most importantly political will and a currency pegged to the dollar, offering investors predictability and free movement of capital.
According to the African Development Bank, Djibouti's economy is projected to grow by 6.5 percent this year.
In recent years, Djibouti has been consolidating its position as a regional logistics and commercial hub. Major cooperative projects, such as the Chinese-built Doraleh Multipurpose Port, the Djibouti International Free Trade Zone, and the transnational railway that stretches 752 km from the Port of Djibouti to the landlocked Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa, have been hailed as connecting bridges to fulfill the country's socio-economic transformation. ■