Djibouti President Ismaël Omar Guelleh meets Emmanuel Macron in Paris
Djiboutian presidents Ismaïl Omar Guelleh and French Emmanuel Macron, during their last meeting on November 11, 2019, in Paris.
AFP - LUDOVIC MARIN
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6 min
Djiboutian President Ismaël Omar Guelleh is in Paris on Friday February 11.
After meeting with French employers and the Senate the day before, he is due to have lunch with President Emmanuel Macron.
On the menu of the two heads of state, a tax agreement between the two countries, French investments in Djibouti, and the renewal of a defense agreement.
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President Ismaël Omar Guelleh had to visit Paris for a long time, but the fate of a
naval base
at the end of a peninsula, north of Djibouti-Ville, has delayed him several times, it is said.
As part of a defense agreement that must be renewed before its expiration, Paris wants to keep this base, but Djibouti wants to replace it with a business district: it is not certain that a compromise will be found yet between the two capitals.
But President Guelleh also comes to talk about French investments in his country.
An agreement with the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (PACA) region is about to be signed, as well as with the electrician Engie.
This while, during the previous Franco-Djiboutian meeting in March 2019, Djibouti regretted the shyness of France.
China, on the other hand, has largely funded infrastructure and even a rail line leading to Addis Ababa, replacing the old French train.
Moreover, this meeting between the two presidents is also taking place in a sensitive political context.
Djibouti has withdrawn from the deadly conflict of its Ethiopian neighbor, in Tigray, yet involving its rival Eritrea.
Presidential elections in April, boycotted by the opposition
In addition, President Guelleh is a candidate for
a fifth term
in April 2021, facing
opposition who will boycott the ballot
.
The latter calls on Djibouti's foreign partners for help, to avoid greater disturbances in this strategic African country.
According to Daoud Houmed, spokesperson for the Djiboutian presidential majority in Europe, “
politics
” and the elections will be discussed during the visit to Paris.
According to him, they "
will take place in the best possible condition
".
According to Daoud Houmed, spokesperson for the Djiboutian presidential majority in Europe, Djiboutians will vote "for the concrete" during the presidential election
Leonard Vincent
The Djiboutian authorities therefore say they are calm.
But this is not the opinion of Adan Mohamed Abdou, president of the opposition coalition, the Union for National Salvation (USN): for him, the French president should warn his Djiboutian counterpart about the consequences a presidential election held in poor conditions.
For a long time now, French presidents have invited dictators like Ismaël Omar Guelleh and each time, they stroke them in the direction of the hair.
This time, we think it might be different, we are waiting for Mr. Macron to tell Ismaël Omar Guelleh that 43 years is enough, and he must give up his place.
Because otherwise, Djibouti will be lost for its people, for France and for all the countries which are present there militarily.
Today, Djibouti is on a very steep slope and can sink at any moment.
There must be political openness, and we no longer need elections as before, but free and transparent elections, guaranteed by the international community including France.
Otherwise it's a waste of time.
For Adan Mohamed Abdou, president of the Djiboutian opposition coalition, Emmanuel Macron should warn his Djiboutian counterpart about the presidential election
Leonard Vincent
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