Voice of Djibouti

CNBC 18 June 2018 Ethiopia’s foreign exchange shortage is due in part to its spending big on infrastructure projects. The current total left in the East African country’s coffers is equivalent to less than one month’s worth of imports, Reuters reported. Landlocked Ethiopia is keen to shore up its international trade infrastructure; for example, taking a stake in the Port of Djibouti in May. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is to deposit $1 billion in Ethiopia’s central bank to ease the latter’s foreign exchange shortage. The sum is part of a total of a $3...

euronews 16 June 2018 Somalia and Ethiopia announced they were jointly investing in four seaports to attract foreign investment to their two countries, the latest move in a tussle for access to ports along one of the world’s most strategic waterways. After Somalia’s president Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo hosted Ethiopia’s prime minister Abiy Ahmed for a meeting at the presidential palace in Mogadishu, the two leaders issued a joint statement of pledges to cooperate on everything from the development of infrastructure including roads linking the two countries to expanding visa services to...

African Business 6 June 2018 Ethiopia will open its national carrier Ethiopian Airlines and state-owned telecom company to investors for the first time by selling minority stakes in the two firms. The move is part of a wider effort by Ethiopia’s new Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to reform East Africa’s fastest growing economy, which is dominated by the state. Ahmed, in power since March 2018, has already reduced the role of Ethiopia’s powerful military in construction and similar projects, and lifted a state of emergency introduced after anti-government protests threatened to engulf the nation. The...

africanews 13 June 2018 The decision by Ethiopia’s ruling coalition to resolver a border dispute with Eritrea has met stiff resistance from members of Badme town which was the epicenter of the war that killed tens of thousands on both sides. The 36 member executive committee of Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) announced on Tuesday that it would accept the December 2000 Algiers Agreement that was signed to restore peace between Ethiopia and Eritrea. But for many of Badme’s 15,000 residents, most of whom are veterans of the 1998-2000 conflict, the decision by premier...

KT Press 11 June 2018 Rwandan Senate has given government up to six months to come up with a clear action plan and follow up on how to put to productivity port land the country acquired in Djibouti, Kenya and Tanzania. This task will see three ministries and the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) convene to draft a plan on how Rwanda can profitably use 83.3 hectares of land. “We have resolved that in not more than six months we get a progress report on the agreement on Djibouti port and six months for government to give clear plan of how they will put the land  in Kenya and Tanzania to good...

Business Ghana 23 May 2018 20,000 people were affected by flooding in Djibouti, more than 10,000 people were displaced in Somaliland, and homes and fishing boats were destroyed in Puntland. “This cyclone left a trail of destruction when it hit Puntland and Somaliland. The storm then continued to Djibouti, where it caused major flooding, not least in Djibouti city. This is the biggest storm to hit the region in years,” said Nigel Tricks, Regional Director for the Norwegian Refugee Council. The storm fist struck Somalia on Friday with damaging winds and heavy rains in Puntland. Farmers...