US embassy cable - 05DJIBOUTI8

UNCLAS DJIBOUTI 000008 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE/GENEVA PASS TO USAID; NAIROBI PASS TO REDSO 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, ETRD, ECON, EAID, EFIN, DJ, SZ 
SUBJECT: MINISTER OF COMMERCE SEEKS SUPPORT FOR TRADE ROUND 
TABLE 
 
1. (U) SUMMARY: On Sunday, January 2, the Ambassador met with 
Djibouti's Minister of Commerce and Industry, Saleban Omar 
Oudine, at his request. The main purpose of the meeting was 
to solicit the Embassy's financial support for a Round Table 
to promote trade. In addition, the Minister requested that 
USAID facilitate the Round Table, which would take place 
sometime after the April presidential election. END SUMMARY. 
 
2. (U) The Ambassador met, on January 2, with Djibouti's 
Minister of Commerce and Industry, Saleban Omar Oudine, at 
his request. She was joined by the acting Pol/Econ Officer 
and an interpreter. The main purpose of the meeting was to 
solicit the Embassy's financial support for a proposed Round 
Table to promote trade, implement reform of Djibouti's 
commercial code and help assure confidence by investors in 
the fairness of Djibouti's judicial system. 
 
3. (U) Conference participants would discuss implementation 
of a recent commerce development study that recommended 
Djibouti improve its investment climate, including 
liberalizing its trade code and improving its commercial 
code. The intent, he said, is to "put all the tools in place 
to give confidence to investors," before the opening of the 
Port of Dorale in the summer of 2005. The Minister said he 
saw the Round Table as a way to help the country modernize 
Djibouti's few exportable industries, namely salt and fish. 
The Minister said the government would solicit projects 
during the Round Table, although he was unclear who would be 
the conference's target. 
 
4. (U) Oudine asked for the Ambassador's support of his 
request to have USAID facilitate the Round Table. He said he 
already discussed this possibility with a USAID 
representative in Geneva at a recent conference in that city 
o/a November 28. The other possible facilitators would be the 
French Cooperation Office in Djibouti and The United Nations 
Development Program (UNDP), although UNDP is not favored as 
it already is a partner in the Round Table project. The 
Minister said that, in addition to UNDP and the French 
Cooperation, there are four obvious candidates for financial 
support of the Round Table: The International Monetary Fund, 
the World Bank, the International Cooperation Center (CCI), 
and another UN group. 
 
5. (U) The Ambassador told the Minister the Round Table 
project seemed very broad, and that pulling the requisite 
number of experts together might be difficult in a short 
amount of time. She added that she would like to be 
supportive of the project as it touches a principal area on 
which she plans to focus in the coming year: "the economic 
prosperity and development of Djibouti." She agreed to 
discuss the project with USAID country director Janet 
Schulman when she returns to post next week and requested 
more information from the Minister, in the meanwhile. 
 
 
RAGSDALE