US embassy cable - 05DJIBOUTI450

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DJIBOUTI 000450 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR AF AND AF/E 
LONDON, PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHERS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/09/2015 
TAGS: PREL, ECON, EAID, KDEM, PGOV, DJ 
SUBJECT: INAUGURATION OF DJIBOUTI'S PRESIDENT FOR SECOND 
TERM 
 
REF: ELECTORAL CABLE 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Marguerita D. Ragsdale. 
For reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
1. (U) Djibouti's 58-year old current president, Ismail Omar 
Guelleh, was inaugurated May 7 for a second six-year term. 
The colorful ceremony, filled with traditional songs and 
dancing, took place in the main hall of the Palais du Peuple, 
a large air-conditioned convention facility with meeting 
rooms constructed by China as a gift to the people of 
Djibouti. Heads of state attending were Omar Bashir, 
President of Sudan, Girma Wolde-Giorgis, President of 
Ethiopia, and Paul Kagame of Rwanda. In addition, the 
President of the Transitional National Government of Somalia, 
Abdillahi Yousuf, also attended. Nations in the Gulf with 
high representation included the states of Qatar, Kuwait and 
UAE. Others were represented by their ambassadors in Djibouti 
or accredited to Djibouti, including Algeria, Oman, Japan, 
the UK, Uganda, Nigeria, the Vatican, France, India, and 
Egypt. The U.S. was officially represented by the Ambassador 
and General Mark Kimmitt, Deputy Director of Centcom J-5, 
standing in for CENTCOM Commander General Abizaid. 
 
2. (U) The key components of the ceremony, which began with 
arrival of invitees at 0900 and ended with the conclusion of 
lunch for heads of state and selected invitees (including 
Ambassadors accredited to Djibouti) at 1500, were the oath of 
office and inauguration speech. Following his oath of office, 
which was sworn on the Holy Quran, Guelleh stated "I will be 
the President of all Djiboutian men and women without 
distinction of their ethnic or regional membership and 
without consideration for their political affiliation." 
 
3. (U) In his lengthy inaugural speech, Guelleh made the 
following salient points: He reiterated his allegiance to the 
values of democracy and reaffirmed his commitment to 
consolidate peace, brotherhood, and national unity. He 
thanked the Djiboutian voters for their support and for 
showing "responsible and praiseworthy behavior" by not ceding 
to the temptation of "irreparable" acts. Guelleh also called 
to the patriotic sense of all Djiboutians to "combine our 
actions and efforts so as to engage our country in the path 
of prosperity and modernity." He also reaffirmed Djibouti's 
commitment to further promote a dynamic cooperation based on 
complimentary resources and underlined the country's 
unalterable faith in the necessary integration of Djibouti's 
fragile economy in the face of various uncertainties and 
challenges of globalization. 
 
4. (U) Guelleh stated "Djibouti's aim for a global 
development means the promotion of our country in all social, 
economic, political and cultural fields and achieving 
development so that all Djiboutians could benefit from the 
fruits of progress." Citing the country's Integrated 
Framework Development Strategy as crucial to the 
reinforcement of infrastructure, Guelleh stated the 
integration of all the regions in the development process 
will enable the country to close the gap in socio-economic 
infrastructures between urban and rural areas. Guelleh said a 
priority is the inclusion of youth and women in the process 
to make the most of their potential and allow women to "fully 
enjoy their rights and consider themselves an active 
component of our society." 
 
5. (U) In order to achieve its economic goals, Guelleh stated 
it was necessary to have cooperation between the private 
sector and the public sector. He said "it is up to all the 
socio-economic partners and above all the State, local 
authorities, public companies, private sector and social 
organizations to assume their responsibilities." He also 
called on the public services to facilitate the needs of 
social and economic actors in order to allow them to create 
investment and employment as well as develop the social and 
economic infrastructure. Guelleh placed regulation and 
development of infrastructure in poor areas as priorities for 
the state. 
 
6. (U) Guelleh stated the Djiboutian people would be able to 
clearly see the benefits of the administration's objectives 
over the next six years through the improvement of their 
lives and gain benefit from necessary assistance, laying the 
foundations for a balanced society, modernization of the 
productive structures through the promotion of their national 
wealth, and improvement of education and professional 
training adapted to the needs of the local economy while 
preserving their local cultural heritage, civilization and 
African and Arab-Islamic values. Guelleh also cited the 
reduction of social disparities through national and regional 
long-term planning, promotion of rural areas, urban planning, 
and protecting and preserving the environment as necessary 
actions. Priorities among national plans were strengthening 
Djibouti's position as a hub for business and financial 
services, information technologies, and port and airport 
services through trade incentives, infrastructure, transit 
services and the Free Zone. Development of the 
Djibouti-Ethiopia railway, with eventual destinations being 
Durban, South Africa and West Africa, and the reinforcement 
of Djibouti's exploitation and export of its salt resources 
were also cited as goals for the next six years. 
 
7. (U) Guelleh noted cooperation within international 
organizations such as IGAD, the African Union, the Arab 
League, the Organization of the Islamic Conference and COMESA 
as an important tool to achieve to Djibouti's hope for 
regional stability, mutual development, and global peace. In 
order to achieve this, Guelleh said, "we should spare no 
effort on behalf of regional solidarity between neighboring 
countries and reinforcement of inter-arab states dialogue." 
 
8. (C) Comment: Guelleh's speech is a verbal outline of his 
agenda for the next six years, which places an enormous 
importance on social and economic development. The importance 
placed on getting the development done right has also been 
seen in the rumors regarding who will be in Guelleh's new 
cabinet. Talk around town has been indicating that there will 
be a significant shake-up in the Ministries. In the past week 
or two, the general impression is that Guelleh will fill many 
of the key ministerial positions with either technocrats or 
professionals rather than politicians. As Guelleh is 
currently traveling to Brazil, the U.S. and France, 
announcements of new cabinet Ministers are not expected to 
begin until his return in two weeks. End Comment. 
RAGSDALE