US embassy cable - 04DJIBOUTI1365

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DJIBOUTI 001365 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ETRD, ECON, EINV, EFIN, EAID, DJ 
SUBJECT: 30th Permanent Conference General Assembly of 
African and French Consular Chambers, October 3 - 6, 2004 
 
 
1. (U) Summary: The 30th general assembly of the Permanent 
Conference of African and French Consular Chambers (CPCCAF) 
took place in Djibouti from October 3 to October 6, 2004. 
Several Djiboutian high officials in the Djiboutian 
government, the President of the CPCCAF and the French 
Ambassador spoke at the opening ceremony.  Ninety delegates 
from 23 Chambers of Commerce members met in Djibouti to 
discuss the ways and means to strengthen partnerships 
between the French Chambers of Commerce and the African 
Chambers of Commerce.  This was the first time the General 
Assembly of the CPCCAF was held in Djibouti, East Africa. 
Pol/Econ and Econ/Com Asst spoke with Mr. Youssouf Tani, 
Vice-President of the Chamber of Commerce of Djibouti (CCD) 
and the Chief Coordinator for the conference, who seemed 
very satisfied with the results of the conference. End of 
Summary 
 
2. (U) The Prime Minister, the French Ambassador, the 
President of the CPCCAF, the President of the Chamber of 
Commerce of Djibouti and the Minister of Trade took turn to 
speak at the inauguration day.  The Djiboutian officials 
saluted the decision of the CPCCAF to hold its general 
assembly in Djibouti for the first time.  They elaborated on 
Djibouti's advantages including stability, liberal economic 
regime, strategic location, modern telecom but most of all 
the potential of the port of Doraleh as a regional 
distribution center.  They also commended the pertinence of 
the projects funded by the CPCCAF, which address the real 
needs of its African members.  Full of confidence, 
Ambassador of France to the Republic of Djibouti Phillipe 
Selz reiterated France's intention to continue to support 
the CPCCAF initiative, which is "strengthening ties between 
France and the African countries". 
 
3. (U) Ninety delegates representing Chambers of Commerce 
from Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central Africa, Comoros, 
Congo, Ivory Coast, Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Madagascar, 
Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, Chad, Togo, Rwanda, and 
France flew to Djibouti for the occasion.  The general 
assembly is held at a different African country every year 
but it is the first time that it is organized in Djibouti. 
According to Mr. Paul Obambi, President of the CPCCAF, 
President Guelleh requested Djibouti to be the venue of this 
30th assembly during his visit to France in 2002.  Mr. 
Obambi added that the CCD also played a major role in 
convincing the CPCCAF to organize its general assembly in 
Djibouti 
 
4. (U) Created in 1973, the CPCCAF is a cooperative 
association between France and its former African colonies. 
The CPCCAF, based in Paris is designed to provide technical 
assistance to the African chambers of commerce, which should 
result in better services to the African businesses.  One 
major objective of the CPCCAF is to mobilize the existing 
expertise within the CPCCAF and share it with other members 
to build their capacity, which is necessary for a well- 
structured and dynamic private sector.  The main topics of 
discussion included Institutional Capacity Building & Good 
Governance, Support to Firms & Development of Industrial and 
Commercial Services, Professional Training & Employment, 
Infrastructure & Investment, and Agriculture. 
 
5. (U) Mr. Tani said that he was satisfied with the 
assistance that the CCD received from its French 
counterparts.  For instance, the International Chamber of 
Commerce of Grenoble (France) trained two elected members of 
the CCD about their specific job fields.   The CCD also 
benefited from a training program of its members on private 
business management.  In addition, the CPCCAF organized a 
seminar for the Djiboutians tour operators.  Furthermore, 
the International Chamber of Commerce of Rouen (France) 
organized a visit to the port of Rouen, which has many 
similarities with the port of Djibouti, which was attended 
by Djiboutian businesses.  Seen as extremely important to 
Djibouti's economic development, the CCD has recently 
requested technical assistance from Paris International 
Chamber of Commerce in setting up a Regional Mediation 
Center in Djibouti.  This center will have the purpose of 
settling any commercial dispute as a legal alternative to 
the Court, which is slow and not always transparent.  It is 
expected that this initiative will bring some comfort to 
national and foreign investors. 
 
6. (U) Mr. Tani indicated that the conference was very 
successful and the CCD reached its target of introducing 
Djibouti to the CPCCAF, which represents more than 1 million 
African and French businesses.  The CPCCAF members visited 
the Port of Doraleh, which remains "the most important 
infrastructure realized in East Africa" according to Mr. 
Obambi.   Mr. Obambi assured that the African business 
community would be closely following the economic 
developments in Djibouti.  Mr. Tani said that the CPCCAF has 
been so successful that many countries are offering to join 
and that is an issue being discussed by the members of the 
CPCCAF.  He felt, however, that increasing the numbers of 
members will make the grouping "impersonal" and will damage 
all the affinities that have developed between the members 
over the years. Holding this general assembly in Djibouti 
shows the will of Djibouti officials to consolidate economic 
ties with France. 
 
6. (SBU) Comment: To mark the importance of this event, 
almost the entire Ministerial Cabinet was present at the 
opening day, which confirms the current tendency of the GOD 
to show good faith and re-establish normal relations with 
France.  The limited assistance offered by the CPCCAF brings 
good benefits to the Chamber of Commerce of Djibouti.  It is 
clear, however, that the CPCCAF serves above all France's 
best economic and strategic interest.