Djibouti President says global powers presence in his country will not undermine the peace of the region

[Deeq A.]

By Ahmed Abdi

Yemen— Djibouti President said on Saturday that the global powers presence in his country will not undermine the peace of his tiny state, despite warnings from regional experts.

Japan, U.S, France, Italy and UK are a presence in Djibouti militarily, While Saudi Arabia is building a base as well India, Turkey and Russia are considering a naval presence in Djibouti amid pursuing national and defense interests that lie in the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean, in terms of influence and expansion of trade.

Relations between Turkey and Saudi Arabia have deteriorated in recent months, following Qatar Crisis. Sino-Japanese relations are still mired in tension.

“Even if they go to war with each other somewhere else, I think that they will not undermine the peace of Djibouti,” said President of the Republic of Djibouti Ismail Omar Guelleh.

Speaking with the Universal TV’s Abdisalam Harari, he said that the superpowers are here for a common objective and same goal which is participating in the peace of the region, which probably means to ward off any terror threat.

Djibouti with dreams of becoming Africa’s Dubai approached all are welcome to Djibouti policy after September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center site, United States.

“I am inviting more foreign militaries because I want my people to get a better life.”

Mr.Guelleh said his government provides health-care and schooling to his country’s population despite limited national resources, referring to IMF’s criticism of the government’s policy.

The president believes that Egypt and Ethiopia will not go to war with each other, however, the war of words over the Nile waters grow.

He also blamed Somali media for assisting in Al-Shabaab in terms of its propaganda war by “posting old images of the group carrying many bullets, instead of posting a weakened image of the terrorist group when a soldier from Somali National Army (SNA) lacks bullets supplies.

Politico, a U.S news-outlet published last week, January 15, a piece sub-titled: “DJIBOUTI — “World War III will start here” and authored by Bruno Maçães.

Djibouti’s Minister for Economic and Finance Ilyas Moussa Dawaleh took to social media to respond to the author’s piece, “The most valuable military real estate in the world”.

“Instead of guessing Djibouti as a potential place of war between superpowers, what if it becomes the place of valuable cooperation for Global security and stability,” The Minister tweeted, on Wednesday, January 17.

Djibouti is open to any kind of approach from Turkey such as building a military base to secure the Red Sea, Djiboutian ambassador to Ankara Aden H. Abdillahi said late last year— December 29, 2017.

Djibouti is strategically located near some of the world’s busiest shipping lanes, controlling access to the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. It serves as a key refueling and transshipment center and is the principal maritime port for imports from and exports to neighboring Ethiopia, according to Wikipedia entry