US embassy cable - 04DJIBOUTI1541

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DJIBOUTI 001541 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR AF/E AND AF 
LONDON/PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHER 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/03/2014 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, EAID, ECON, EINV, SENV, DJ, TC 
SUBJECT: PRESIDENT GUELLEH AND U.S-DJIBOUTI BILATERAL 
RELATIONS 
 
Classified By: AMBASSSADOR MARGUERITA D. RAGSDALE. 
REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D). 
 
 1. (C) Ambassador met with President Ismail Omar Guelleh on 
December 2, at her request.  The purpose of the meeting was 
to discuss the current state of U.S.-Djibouti bilateral 
relations as well as developments in the region.  Septels 
cover discussions on Camp Lemonier lease negotiations and 
regional developments.  Pol/Econ (Embassy notetaker) joined 
the Ambassador in the meeting at the Presidential Palace. 
Osman Ahmed, Minister of the Presidency, sat in with Guelleh 
on the Djiboutian side. 
 
2. (C) Ambassador began by asking Guelleh for an assessment 
of his September visit to the U.S. to participate in UNGA. 
He replied that the trip had been "very, very good, very 
pleasant, and very fruitful." His meetings with members of 
the House and Senate were particularly interesting as they 
were his first opportunity to see how affairs are handled in 
respective departments and committees.  The meetings were 
also a chance for him to brief members of Congress on 
Djibouti's activities and to see how they view the relations 
proceeding.  Guelleh said the congressmen were also 
interested to hear Djibouti's views on relations between 
their two countries.  Guelleh expressed hope that he had 
succeeded in conveying his message well. He had not met with 
senior U.S. officials. He told Ambassador that during his 
trip, he had not wanted "to disturb Administration 
officials," who seemed "to have other issues on their mind" 
during UNGA. He said, nonetheless, the trip was very useful 
and he had been particularly impressed by retired congressman 
Ronald Dellums of California and the meeting the two had had. 
 
3. (C) To Ambassador's invitation to Guelleh to provide his 
assessment of the current state of U.S-Djibouti bilateral 
relations, Guelleh responded that he wanted a closer 
relationship with the United States administration.  This is 
why, he said, Djibouti had hired a firm in the U.S. to assist 
in this effort.  He said Djibouti was committed to go forward 
and join countries that are "closest to the hearts of the 
Administration and to the President of the United States." 
"As you know," he recounted, "Djibouti is a very poor 
country."  Yet the World Bank has determined that Djibouti is 
not eligible for certain loans because of its high per capita 
income among developing countries.  "This is not good at 
all," he said, because Djibouti has genuine needs.  He said 
he had told Assistant Secretary of State for Africa Constance 
Newman during his visit to New York that he would like to see 
Djibouti on the list of countries with bilateral development 
assistance through USAID, in order to make the U.S. 
commitment to Djibouti more permanent.  Currently, and in 
prior years, he said, Djibouti has benefited on a more 
intermittent basis from Economic Support funds.  That 
assistance was cut off during the Clinton Administration.  A 
commitment of development assistance, Guelleh stated, would 
provide greater continuity.  Nevertheless, he said he was 
pleased with U.S.-Djibouti cooperation through assistance in 
the education and health domains. 
 
4. (C) Ambassador noted that health and education were the 
priorities for assistance that Djibouti set after Guelleh's 
visit to the U.S. in January, 2003.  She asked if he had 
identified other areas of need for Djibouti. Guelleh 
responded that desertification, water accessibility, the 
environment, and private investment from U.S. firms were also 
priorities.  He commented that it was very important that 
Djibouti attract more direct foreign investment.  For 
countries in Africa, that was the only way for development to 
succeed.  Ambassador mentioned the difficulty in encouraging 
U.S. businesses to seek commercial opportunities in Djibouti 
due to the country's small market size.  Yet the potential 
certainly exists, she said, in expanding to surrounding 
markets in the region.  Guelleh agreed, and said Singapore is 
an example of what Djibouti would like to become.  It is very 
small but serves all of its neighboring areas.  For example, 
a dream for Djibouti, Guelleh said, is to connect its railway 
to Durban, South Africa.  According to Guelleh, South Africa 
is a plausible market base and is very interested in the 
prospect of developing this rail line.  Djibouti would use 
the new port at Doraleh, managed by "very efficient and 
successful people" (note: Dubai Ports International. end 
note) as a way to attract business from landlocked countries. 
 Guelleh commented that from Mombasa to Mozambique, there was 
not an efficient port from which many landlocked countries 
with rich resources might benefit. 
 
5. (C) Ambassador noted additional U.S. assistance to 
Djibouti through Foreign Military Financing (FMF). Guelleh 
dismissed FMF's impact, saying he had "given up" on the FMF 
program.  The first request for material was in 2001, he told 
Ambassador, and it was for heavy-duty trucks.  "To this day, 
not one truck has been delivered."  Ambassador responded that 
the FMF process does take time.  She said she had sent 
messages to Washington inquiring about the status of various 
FMF requests for Djibouti, and believed she had made some 
progress.  Also, she said, General Abizaid promised General 
Fathi during a recent visit that he would also explore the 
matter of FMF delays.  Guelleh shrugged his shoulders, and 
responded that FMF, unfortunately, is a complicated system 
issue for the U.S. 
 
6. (C) Comment: Key Djiboutian ministers, and Ambassador 
Olhaye, have long made a case for development assistance for 
Djibouti.  It is clear Guelleh wants a long-term U.S. 
assistance relationship-- and a long-term USAID presence. 
They believe this is possible under the current 
Administration. There is, however, little faith in the 
utility of FMF. Ambassador has addressed this in Washington. 
A discussion of larger implications of aid issues in 
Djibouti, the impact of Dubai, and the U.S.-Djibouti 
relationship to follow septel. End comment. 
 
RAGSDALE