“In a regional environment weakened by the resumption of fighting in Ethiopia”, Emmanuel Macron is taking care of his relations with his allies in the Horn of Africa. The president thus “marked his attachment to the stability of Djibouti”, during a telephone interview with his counterpart Ismaïl Omar Guelleh, the Elysée announced on Saturday.
A small state, Djibouti is no less strategic for France, which relies on its largest military base abroad, with some 1,500 French soldiers. The two leaders also “reaffirmed the strength and strategic nature of the defense relationship between France and Djibouti, as illustrated by the visit of the Minister of the Armed Forces of the French government on September 15 in Djibouti”, indicated the ‘Elysium.
“The risk of a food crisis”
During his telephone conversation with the Djiboutian president, Emmanuel Macron also returned to “the risk of a food crisis on the scale of the region”. After five months of truce, the resumption of fighting in northern Ethiopia on August 24 interrupted the delivery of humanitarian aid, particularly in the rebel region of Tigray, where it is essential, the UN said on Thursday. as clashes escalate between Tigrayan rebels and pro-government forces.
Emmanuel Macron and Ismaïl Omar Guelleh also “discussed the main ongoing projects aimed at strengthening the bilateral relationship in the continuity of the visit of the President of the Republic to Djibouti in March 2019”, indicated the French presidency. President Guelleh was received at the Elysée in February 2021.