Freight Forwarders Target Seamless Trade

Located at the confluence of Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, Djibouti's ports complex is a hive of constant activity. The ecosystem, made up of the Port of Djibouti, the Doraleh Multipurpose Port as well as specialised ports such as Tadjoura and Ghoubet, underpins the country's role as a regional logistics hub and attracts significant investment in infrastructure.

Robleh Mohamed Barreh, CEO of Oriental African Logistics and head of the Association of Djiboutian Freight Forwarders one of the two industry associations for freight forwarders, says there are 126 freight forwarders operating in the country. "It's very competitive for such a small country," he concedes. However, the freight forwarders are not exactly struggling for business. The vast bulk of neighbouring Ethiopia's external trade currently transits through Djibouti. "Ethiopia is a country that depends heavily on exports for foreign currency.

Exports are very crucial for them and 90 of their exports go through Djibouti," Barreh explains. The figure for Ethiopia's transit imports is not far off that.

The arrangement works well for both parties. Despite signalling intentions to find other ports for its shipments, Ethiopia continues to rely on Djibouti. The reason is that Djibouti is competitive and reliable, says Barreh. "Freight forwarders understand their needs and the ports are very efficient. Of course, there are things that need to be improved too, such as the infrastructure. But we will get there," he says.

Some of those improvements have already taken place. Over the last decade the government of Djibouti has made or facilitated significant investments into the ports as part of its Vision 2035, which aims to transition the nation into a middle-income economy by enhancing its role as a regional logistics and trade hub.