Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
04DJIBOUTI1365
2004-10-26 01:12:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Djibouti
Cable title:  

30th Permanent Conference General Assembly of

Tags:  ETRD ECON EINV EFIN EAID DJ 
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260112Z Oct 04
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DJIBOUTI 001365 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ETRD ECON EINV EFIN EAID DJ
SUBJECT: 30th Permanent Conference General Assembly of
African and French Consular Chambers, October 3 - 6, 2004


UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DJIBOUTI 001365

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ETRD ECON EINV EFIN EAID DJ
SUBJECT: 30th Permanent Conference General Assembly of
African and French Consular Chambers, October 3 - 6, 2004



1. (U) Summary: The 30th general assembly of the Permanent
Conference of African and French Consular Chambers (CPCCAF)
took place in Djibouti from October 3 to October 6, 2004.
Several Djiboutian high officials in the Djiboutian
government, the President of the CPCCAF and the French
Ambassador spoke at the opening ceremony. Ninety delegates
from 23 Chambers of Commerce members met in Djibouti to
discuss the ways and means to strengthen partnerships
between the French Chambers of Commerce and the African
Chambers of Commerce. This was the first time the General
Assembly of the CPCCAF was held in Djibouti, East Africa.
Pol/Econ and Econ/Com Asst spoke with Mr. Youssouf Tani,
Vice-President of the Chamber of Commerce of Djibouti (CCD)
and the Chief Coordinator for the conference, who seemed
very satisfied with the results of the conference. End of
Summary


2. (U) The Prime Minister, the French Ambassador, the
President of the CPCCAF, the President of the Chamber of
Commerce of Djibouti and the Minister of Trade took turn to
speak at the inauguration day. The Djiboutian officials
saluted the decision of the CPCCAF to hold its general
assembly in Djibouti for the first time. They elaborated on
Djibouti's advantages including stability, liberal economic
regime, strategic location, modern telecom but most of all
the potential of the port of Doraleh as a regional
distribution center. They also commended the pertinence of
the projects funded by the CPCCAF, which address the real
needs of its African members. Full of confidence,
Ambassador of France to the Republic of Djibouti Phillipe
Selz reiterated France's intention to continue to support
the CPCCAF initiative, which is "strengthening ties between
France and the African countries".


3. (U) Ninety delegates representing Chambers of Commerce
from Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central Africa, Comoros,
Congo, Ivory Coast, Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Madagascar,
Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, Chad, Togo, Rwanda, and
France flew to Djibouti for the occasion. The general
assembly is held at a different African country every year
but it is the first time that it is organized in Djibouti.

According to Mr. Paul Obambi, President of the CPCCAF,
President Guelleh requested Djibouti to be the venue of this
30th assembly during his visit to France in 2002. Mr.
Obambi added that the CCD also played a major role in
convincing the CPCCAF to organize its general assembly in
Djibouti


4. (U) Created in 1973, the CPCCAF is a cooperative
association between France and its former African colonies.
The CPCCAF, based in Paris is designed to provide technical
assistance to the African chambers of commerce, which should
result in better services to the African businesses. One
major objective of the CPCCAF is to mobilize the existing
expertise within the CPCCAF and share it with other members
to build their capacity, which is necessary for a well-
structured and dynamic private sector. The main topics of
discussion included Institutional Capacity Building & Good
Governance, Support to Firms & Development of Industrial and
Commercial Services, Professional Training & Employment,
Infrastructure & Investment, and Agriculture.


5. (U) Mr. Tani said that he was satisfied with the
assistance that the CCD received from its French
counterparts. For instance, the International Chamber of
Commerce of Grenoble (France) trained two elected members of
the CCD about their specific job fields. The CCD also
benefited from a training program of its members on private
business management. In addition, the CPCCAF organized a
seminar for the Djiboutians tour operators. Furthermore,
the International Chamber of Commerce of Rouen (France)
organized a visit to the port of Rouen, which has many
similarities with the port of Djibouti, which was attended
by Djiboutian businesses. Seen as extremely important to
Djibouti's economic development, the CCD has recently
requested technical assistance from Paris International
Chamber of Commerce in setting up a Regional Mediation
Center in Djibouti. This center will have the purpose of
settling any commercial dispute as a legal alternative to
the Court, which is slow and not always transparent. It is
expected that this initiative will bring some comfort to
national and foreign investors.


6. (U) Mr. Tani indicated that the conference was very
successful and the CCD reached its target of introducing
Djibouti to the CPCCAF, which represents more than 1 million
African and French businesses. The CPCCAF members visited
the Port of Doraleh, which remains "the most important
infrastructure realized in East Africa" according to Mr.
Obambi. Mr. Obambi assured that the African business
community would be closely following the economic
developments in Djibouti. Mr. Tani said that the CPCCAF has
been so successful that many countries are offering to join
and that is an issue being discussed by the members of the
CPCCAF. He felt, however, that increasing the numbers of
members will make the grouping "impersonal" and will damage
all the affinities that have developed between the members
over the years. Holding this general assembly in Djibouti
shows the will of Djibouti officials to consolidate economic
ties with France.


6. (SBU) Comment: To mark the importance of this event,
almost the entire Ministerial Cabinet was present at the
opening day, which confirms the current tendency of the GOD
to show good faith and re-establish normal relations with
France. The limited assistance offered by the CPCCAF brings
good benefits to the Chamber of Commerce of Djibouti. It is
clear, however, that the CPCCAF serves above all France's
best economic and strategic interest.