appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Agence France-Presse

French President Emmanuel Macron visited Djibouti and Ethiopia on Tuesday, promising “respectful” partnerships in the face of growing regional indebtedness to China, which is fast expanding its presence in Africa.
Looking to strengthen economic, military and cultural ties in East Africa, Macron announced a defence deal with Ethiopia and is expected to seal a major transport contract in Kenya on Wednesday.
Macron described Djibouti, the last colony to gain independence from France – in 1977 – as a “historical partner and strategic ally”.
Both Paris and Beijing, as well as Japan and the United States, have military bases in Djibouti because of its location along a shipping lane that leads to the Suez Canal.




Its geographic importance in the Horn of Africa was the foundation of Djibouti’s hopes of becoming a major trading centre.
Two years ago, East Africa’s smallest country inaugurated its newest and biggest port – part of an infrastructure expansion, partly funded by China, that included three more ports and a railway to Addis Ababa, the capital of landlocked Ethiopia.
Lawsuit highlights legal risks of Beijing’s belt and road plan
The government of Djibouti President Ismail Omar Guelleh hoped to turn the country into a “new Dubai” competing for business with overburdened African ports such as Mombasa in Kenya.
Sandwiched between Ethiopia, Somalia and Eritrea, Djibouti – population 980,000 according to the United Nations – is a crucial part of Beijing’s “Belt and Road Initiative” along what has been nicknamed the “Maritime Silk Road”.
It allows China to reach Africa and Europe across the Indian Ocean.
The project involved Beijing lending developing countries in Asia and Africa huge amounts of money to develop infrastructure and ease trade.

But the International Monetary Fund sounded the alarm over an increase of Djibouti’s public debt from half of GDP in 2014 to 85 per cent in 2017.
The US-based China Africa Research Initiative in 2017 estimated that Djibouti’s debt to China was about US$1.3 billion.
“I would not want international investments to weaken the sovereignty of our partners,” Macron said on Tuesday, in a reference to China’s growing presence in Africa.
“French companies are able to offer a respectful partnership.”
On board the Chinese-built Ethiopia to Djibouti train
Guelleh, who described himself as “a great friend of China” when he visited Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2017, told Macron: “There are opportunities for French companies, particularly in the field of infrastructure.
“Our country is open, I have not lost hope that France can boost its investments in Djibouti.”
Also on Tuesday, Macron visited the remote Ethiopian town of Lalibela with its renowned 13th-century church complex, a Unesco World Heritage site.
He promised to “finance and assist the work with the Ethiopians to restore these churches”, threatened by erosion and temporarily covered by vast metal-and-tarpaulin structures loathed by worshippers.

Macron said he believed in a model of “cultural diplomacy” made of “balanced partnerships”.
At a meeting with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, Macron also announced a defence agreement in which France will loan €85 million (US$96 million) to Ethiopia to support the establishment of a navy for the landlocked country.
Ethiopia has access to the Gulf of Aden and Red Sea ports thanks to deals with neighbours Djibouti and Sudan.
On Wednesday, Macron was expected to attend a state dinner in Addis Ababa and meet leaders of the African Union before making the first trip to Kenya by a French president.
On Thursday, in the capital, Nairobi, he will attend the One Planet Summit on reversing climate change.
Ethiopia, Eritrea sign ‘joint declaration’ to end long war
He is also expected to head to Nairobi Central Railway Station to announce contracts worth around €3 billion to extend a line to the capital’s airport.
During his visit to East Africa on Tuesday, Rwanda invited Macron to attend the 25th anniversary of the country’s 1994 genocide in which about 800,000 of its citizens perished.
Rwandan authorities have long accused France of complicity in the killings. Macron has not indicated whether he will attend the event on April 7 in the capital, Kigali.


China shouldn’t view a tired US as signifying a Europe ready to pivot

Could Spain’s ‘compliment sandwich’ approach to China work for the EU?

Chinese EV maker Leapmotor taps Stellantis’ Spanish plant for EU production

To negotiate with China, Europe must first figure out what it wants

China-EU relations

French President Emmanuel Macron visits East Africa as China presses on with ‘belt and road’ plan

The inauguration ceremony of the Djibouti - Addis Ababa Railway at Gare De Nagad Station. The railway is supported by China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation. 10JAN17 SCMP/Felix Wong

French President Emmanuel Macron (C) meets with soldiers on the French military base in Djibouti on March 12, 2019. - French President Macron tours Horn of Africa nations, with stops in Djibouti, Ethiopia and Kenya. (Photo by Ludovic MARIN / POOL / AFP)

President of France Emmanuel Macron (left) and the Prime Minister of Ethiopia Abiy Ahmed meet at the premier’s office in Addis Ababa. Photo: EPA

The US fears China could strangle its only permanent military base in Africa – and a port in Djibouti could be the weapon

Base of US in Djibouti, East Africa. 09JAN17 SCMP / Felix Wong

(181214) -- DJIBOUTI, Dec. 14, 2018 (Xinhua) -- Photo taken on Dec. 9, 2018 shows the Doraleh Multi-Purpose Port in Djibouti. Djibouti is not only a hub of maritime traffic and trade between Europe, Asia and Africa, but also an important gateway to Africa for the construction of the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road. In recent years, a number of China-Djibouti cooperation projects have made important contributions to promoting China-Djibouti economic and trade cooperation. (Xinhua/Wang Teng)

Base of US in Djibouti, East Africa. 08JAN17 SCMP / Felix Wong

(181214) -- DJIBOUTI, Dec. 14, 2018 (Xinhua) -- Aerial photo taken on Nov. 30, 2017 shows the Doraleh Multi-Purpose Port in Djibouti. Djibouti is not only a hub of maritime traffic and trade between Europe, Asia and Africa, but also an important gateway to Africa for the construction of the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road. In recent years, a number of China-Djibouti cooperation projects have made important contributions to promoting China-Djibouti economic and trade cooperation. (Xinhua)

Camp Lemonnier, a former French Foreign Legion base, is the only permanent US military base in Africa. Photo: Felix Wong/SCMP

US senators voice alarm over growing Chinese presence at Djibouti port

Chinese PLA Navy destroyer Guangzhou arrived at port in Djibouti for a repair and resupply stopover in May. Handout.

Rwanda joins Alibaba-led electronic world trade platform amid US-China trade war

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Rwanda's President Paul Kagame address a news conference during his visit to Kigali, Rwanda July 23, 2018. REUTERS/Jean Bizimana

Jack Ma, executive chairman of Alibaba Group, and Rwandan President Paul Kagame jointly unveil the plaque of Alibaba's Electronic World Trade Platform (EWTP) at the launching ceremony in Kigali, Rwanda, Oct. 31, 2018. Photo: Xinhua

China and Rwanda to seal belt and road deals on Xi Jinping’s strategic influence tour of Africa

Chinese President Xi Jinping (centre) inspects a guard of honour, accompanied by Rwandan President Paul Kagame (left), upon arrival at the Urugwiru State house in Kigali on Monday. Photo: AFP

A security guard patrols during launch of the first batch of Standard Gauge Railway freight locomotives at the port in Mombasa on January 11, 2017. The locomotives are expected to boost the capacity of Kenya's railway transportation, assisting in the realization of Kenya's economic development goals. The SGR system, the biggest infrastructure project in Kenya since independence, is being built by the state-owned China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC), with plans to connect Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and South Sudan to the port of Mombasa to enable faster socio-economic transformation of the East and Central Africa economies. The first phase which will connect the coastal port city of Mombasa to Kenya's capital Nairobi is expected to be operational by June 1, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / ANDREW NGEA

President of China Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan wave while stepping out of their plane upon their arrival for a two day state visit at the Kigali International Airport in Rwanda Sunday, July 22, 2018. President Xi will hold bilateral talks with President Paul Kagame. (AP Photo)

News

China

Diplomacy

World

Europe

French president in former colony of Djibouti promising ‘respectful’ partnership
Macron commits US$100 million to help landlocked Ethiopia build its navy


French president in former colony of Djibouti to seek ‘respectful’ partnership, while committing US$100 million to help landlocked Ethiopia build its navy.


China-Africa relations

French President Emmanuel Macron visits East Africa as China presses on with ‘belt and road’ plan

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;}French president in former colony of Djibouti promising ‘respectful’ partnership Macron commits US$100 million to help landlocked Ethiopia build its navy

French president in former colony of Djibouti promising ‘respectful’ partnership

Macron commits US$100 million to help landlocked Ethiopia build its navy