Developing Djibouti: An American Imperative

Posted by Saleem Ali of University of Queensland (Australia) on November 15, 2012

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Updated December 1, 2012

The geographic extremities of any continent tend to have strategic value and it is thus no surprise

that the so-called “Horn of Africa” was contested and divided between the colonial powers. Italy,

the United Kingdom and France vied for control here. While the highlands of Abyssinia  remained

a formidable challenge for colonizers (the Italians captured Addis Ababa only for a brief period

from 1890 to 1896), the coastal regions got divided up between the colonial powers. Although the

French had much of their clout on the Western end of the continent, they wanted an outpost on

the Red Sea, given its strategic value in connecting Africa to Asia, leading to the establishment of

a small colony of “French Somaliland.”

A street scene near the central mosque in the capital of Djibouti: Missed potential for developing a Muslim country in the Horn of Africa.

Photo by Saleem H. Ali

This small colony is now the sovereign state of Djibouti, which gained independence in 1977 but

retains strong ties to France. With a population of less than a million and hot dry climate with few

mineral resources, the country has been off the beaten track of most travellers. However, during

the last decade, due to the continuing instability in neighbouring Somalia as well as the war

between Eritrea and Ethiopia, Djibouti has gained prominence. It is now the only source of

maritime access for landlocked Ethiopia with its population and development needs of over 85

million people. It is also now also the residence for over 20,000 Somali refugees who have

escaped through the “green zone” of Somalilandfrom the conflict in the south of fractured

Somalia.

A nominal democracy, the country has been relatively peaceful yet still desperately poor. I had an

opportunity to visit Djibouti recently after a visit to Ethiopia for the United Nations African

Development Forum. My curiosity to visit this country was sparked by an article I had read in The

Washington Post regarding the expansion of US military presence in the region. Landing at

Djibouti International airport, one is alarmed to find one side of the air strip almost completely

populated by US Airforce presence. The country is also among the few places in the world where

drone aircraft can be seen on a civilian air strip, often overwhelming civilian traffic. The presence

of these prized new airforce stealth weapons in Djibouti comes from its proximity to the Arabian

state of Yemen which has become an increasingly significant hotbed for Al-Qaeda.

Talking to locals, there was little resentment towards American presence but also not much to

show for their positive impact on the country. Occasionally one would hear stories of US soldiers

volunteering for community service or building some unusual desert residence for local villagers,

but the overall development impact of US presence here of over 3000 personnel has been

minimal. Unemployment is still over 40% and much of the money that comes in from foreign

investment is funnelled back to the foreign-owned businesses in the city. The US government

pays only $38 million per year to lease the airfield for the drone operations and the African

command base here which is under further expansion.

The lack of US investment in Djibouti is a tremendous missed opportunity to develop a country

which could be a low-hanging fruit for citizen diplomacy with the Muslim world. With only 900,000

people and a relatively small land-base and a highly urbanized population, developing Djibouti

with aid investment would be very easy to do. Imagine the positive impact of showcasing how US

military presence was a force for positive investment in a Muslim country (the population is 95%

Muslim), and genuinely changed the human development indicators of the country. Yet theUSAID

program in Djibouti is paltry and embarrassing, given the strategic value of the country to the US

as a military base.

Aerial view of Lake Abbe, on the border of Ethiopia and Djibouti. Photo by Saleem H. Ali

The unrealized potential for various kinds of investment is also phenomenal. The climate is

similar to the sunny Gulf states – hot and dry, but with far greater tourism potential. Djibouti has

spectacular desert mountains, which rise up to 2000 meters and where the climate is cooler but

accessible within a few hours drive from the capital city. There are two large spectacular lakes

which could be a bastion for developing eco-tourism. Lake Assal is a massive crater lake

surrounded by salt pans and spectacular mountain scenery. Lake Abbe, on the border with

Ethiopia is next to a dormant volcano with its own unique set of geological features such as large

limestone chimneys and is one of the key geographic features of the Afar depression which is a

rare example of a tectonic triple junction where three geologic plates meet. In addition, Djibouti’s

Obock region is the closest point across the terminus of the Red Sea and Arabia. Indeed, this

unique location already attracted interest from Saudi investor Tarek Bin Laden (brother of

infamous deceased Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden) tobuild a “bridge of the horns” across the

divide and develop a tourist resort and business development. However, instead of encouraging

such development plans the United States has discouraged investment in such a project for

ostensible security reasons.

It is high time the United States Departments of State and Defense pay attention to Djibouti’s

development. It should be used as a prototype for positive US investment in the Muslim world and

the chances of getting fast and palpable development progress here are far greater than in

Afghanistan or Iraq. Providing incentives for American business to invest in Djibouti, coupled with

massive development assistance to build infrastructure should be a top priority for the Obama

administration’s next Africa policy. In his next trip to the continent, President Obama needs to visit

Djibouti and see for himself what the US is missing in terms of development potential.

There are valid concerns about the existing corruption and lack of transparency in the country.

However, this cannot be used as an excuse for inaction or reticence to further development

assistance. International groups such as Friends of Djibouti can assist with more scrutiny of

government action, similar to the efforts undertaken by offshore campaigns to improve the

performance of government institutions in Burma/ Myanmar which have led to the current

improvement of international relations and performance of the government. Clearly the United

States now has far more leverage in Djibouti and should work with other international players to

make a more concerted effort to improve social and political institutions in the country.  Such calls

for reform should occur alongside targeted and deliberative development assistance that meets

the aspirations of Djiboutians and also improves the potential for sustained economic investment.

Minor American development investment: A Coca Cola Sign at a decrepit commercial plaza on road to Lake Assal, Djibouti. Photo by

Saleem H. Ali

As a starting point, the US should totally rebuild the civilian airport terminal in Djibouti with USAID

funds since that is the most proximate connection to their own military base and is desperately in

need of renovation. As the development of Dubai shows, airports can be essential catalysts in

promoting international investment. The public diplomacy impact of this could also be enormous

at a small fraction of the hundreds of millions of dollars being invested in the military base next to

the airport. Port-oriented development and tourism could be the next areas to attract international

investment. USAID should also invest in a massive environmental cleanup and education

program. The urban waste management system in Djibouti is deplorable and the pollution from

waste dumping in the capital’s streets is among the worst I have seen in this region. Educational

investment in schools and a regional university (similar to the American University of Cairo) could

be another important move to attract students from the region. All this development can be done

much faster than in most African countries. The country’s connections to France as well as to the

Arab league provide it with a multilingual demographic labor force that could easily spur

development.

The colonial scramble for Africa produced many anomalous national identities that have often

impeded development by creating trade barriers or accentuating underlying ethnic tensions and

conflict. The old “conquer powers” that divided and synthesized current manifestations of national

identities as well as the new “order powers” who aspire for free flow of resources and commerce

have an obligation to develop Africa. The task is daunting and trust among Africans is fleeting

without some clear marks of resounding success. Djibouti has the potential to be such a success

story for development in a relatively short time-frame. Such a prototype for development, in which

an impoverished Muslim majority country that literally lies at the gateway between Africa and

Arabia, could be a game-change for transcendent international cooperation.

http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2012/11/15/djibouti/