French President Emmanuel Macron is welcomed by Djibouti's President
Ismail Omar Guelleh upon his arrival at Djibouti airport on March 11,
2019, at the start of his trip to eastern Africa. PHOTO | AFP
President Emmanuel Macron visited former French colony Djibouti
on Tuesday with promises of a "respectful" partnership in the face of
growing African indebtedness to China, which is fast expanding its
foothold on the continent.
Both Paris and Beijing -- as
well as Japan and the United States -- have military bases in East
Africa's smallest country due to its strategic location along a key
shipping lane leading to the Suez Canal.
Macron
described Djibouti, the last colony to gain independence from France --
in 1977 -- as a "historical partner and strategic ally", and "the point
of entry" to the Horn of Africa region.
Its geographic importance forms the foundation of Djibouti's hopes of becoming a major trading hub.
Two
years ago, it inaugurated its newest and biggest port -- part of an
infrastructure expansion, partly funded by China, that includes three
other ports and a railroad to the capital of landlocked Ethiopia.
Djibouti
President Ismail Omar Guelleh's administration hopes to turn the
country into a "new Dubai" competing for business with overcrowded
African ports such as Mombasa in Kenya.
Sandwiched
between Ethiopia, Somalia and Eritrea, tiny Djibouti is a crucial part
of Beijing's "Belt and Road" global infrastructure initiative along what
has been dubbed the "Maritime Silk Road".
It allows China to reach Africa and Europe via the Indian Ocean.
The
project has seen Beijing lend developing countries in Asia and Africa
huge amounts of money to develop infrastructure and ease trade.
But
the International Monetary Fund has sounded the alarm over an increase
of Djibouti's public debt from 50 percent of GDP in 2014 to 85 percent
in 2017.
The US-based China Africa Research Initiative in 2017 estimated Djibouti's debt to China at some $1.3 billion.
"I
would not want international investments to weaken the sovereignty of
our partners," Macron said Tuesday, in a reference to China's growing
African presence.
"French companies are able to offer a respectful partnership," the president added.
East African tour
Guelleh, who described himself as "a great friend of China" when he visited President Xi Jinping in 2017, told Macron: "There are opportunities for French companies, particularly in the field of infrastructure.
Guelleh, who described himself as "a great friend of China" when he visited 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."
Later
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 much hated by locals.
Macron
is scheduled to attend a state dinner in Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.
On Wednesday, he will meet leaders of the African Union before making
the first-ever trip to Kenya by a French president.
On Thursday, he will attend the One Planet Summit in Nairobi on reversing climate change.
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