INAUGURATION OF DJIBOUTI'S PRESIDENT FOR SECOND

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DJIBOUTI 000450

SIPDIS

STATE FOR AF AND AF/E
LONDON, PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHERS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/09/2015
TAGS: PREL ECON EAID KDEM PGOV DJ
SUBJECT: INAUGURATION OF DJIBOUTI'S PRESIDENT FOR SECOND
TERM

REF: ELECTORAL CABLE

Classified By: Ambassador Marguerita D. Ragsdale.
For reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (U) Djibouti's 58-year old current president, Ismail Omar
Guelleh, was inaugurated May 7 for a second six-year term.
The colorful ceremony, filled with traditional songs and
dancing, took place in the main hall of the Palais du Peuple,
a large air-conditioned convention facility with meeting
rooms constructed by China as a gift to the people of
Djibouti. Heads of state attending were Omar Bashir,
President of Sudan, Girma Wolde-Giorgis, President of
Ethiopia, and Paul Kagame of Rwanda. In addition, the
President of the Transitional National Government of Somalia,
Abdillahi Yousuf, also attended. Nations in the Gulf with
high representation included the states of Qatar, Kuwait and
UAE. Others were represented by their ambassadors in Djibouti
or accredited to Djibouti, including Algeria, Oman, Japan,
the UK, Uganda, Nigeria, the Vatican, France, India, and
Egypt. The U.S. was officially represented by the Ambassador
and General Mark Kimmitt, Deputy Director of Centcom J-5,
standing in for CENTCOM Commander General Abizaid.


2. (U) The key components of the ceremony, which began with
arrival of invitees at 0900 and ended with the conclusion of
lunch for heads of state and selected invitees (including
Ambassadors accredited to Djibouti) at 1500, were the oath of
office and inauguration speech. Following his oath of office,
which was sworn on the Holy Quran, Guelleh stated "I will be
the President of all Djiboutian men and women without
distinction of their ethnic or regional membership and
without consideration for their political affiliation."


3. (U) In his lengthy inaugural speech, Guelleh made the
following salient points: He reiterated his allegiance to the
values of democracy and reaffirmed his commitment to
consolidate peace, brotherhood, and national unity. He
thanked the Djiboutian voters for their support and for
showing "responsible and praiseworthy behavior" by not ceding
to the temptation of "irreparable" acts. Guelleh also called
to the patriotic sense of all Djiboutians to "combine our
actions and efforts so as to engage our country in the path
of prosperity and modernity." He also reaffirmed Djibouti's
commitment to further promote a dynamic cooperation based on
complimentary resources and underlined the country's
unalterable faith in the necessary integration of Djibouti's
fragile economy in the face of various uncertainties and
challenges of globalization.


4. (U) Guelleh stated "Djibouti's aim for a global
development means the promotion of our country in all social,
economic, political and cultural fields and achieving
development so that all Djiboutians could benefit from the
fruits of progress." Citing the country's Integrated
Framework Development Strategy as crucial to the
reinforcement of infrastructure, Guelleh stated the
integration of all the regions in the development process
will enable the country to close the gap in socio-economic
infrastructures between urban and rural areas. Guelleh said a
priority is the inclusion of youth and women in the process
to make the most of their potential and allow women to "fully
enjoy their rights and consider themselves an active
component of our society."


5. (U) In order to achieve its economic goals, Guelleh stated
it was necessary to have cooperation between the private
sector and the public sector. He said "it is up to all the
socio-economic partners and above all the State, local
authorities, public companies, private sector and social
organizations to assume their responsibilities." He also
called on the public services to facilitate the needs of
social and economic actors in order to allow them to create
investment and employment as well as develop the social and
economic infrastructure. Guelleh placed regulation and
development of infrastructure in poor areas as priorities for
the state.


6. (U) Guelleh stated the Djiboutian people would be able to
clearly see the benefits of the administration's objectives
over the next six years through the improvement of their
lives and gain benefit from necessary assistance, laying the
foundations for a balanced society, modernization of the
productive structures through the promotion of their national
wealth, and improvement of education and professional
training adapted to the needs of the local economy while
preserving their local cultural heritage, civilization and
African and Arab-Islamic values. Guelleh also cited the
reduction of social disparities through national and regional
long-term planning, promotion of rural areas, urban planning,
and protecting and preserving the environment as necessary
actions. Priorities among national plans were strengthening
Djibouti's position as a hub for business and financial
services, information technologies, and port and airport
services through trade incentives, infrastructure, transit
services and the Free Zone. Development of the
Djibouti-Ethiopia railway, with eventual destinations being
Durban, South Africa and West Africa, and the reinforcement
of Djibouti's exploitation and export of its salt resources
were also cited as goals for the next six years.


7. (U) Guelleh noted cooperation within international
organizations such as IGAD, the African Union, the Arab
League, the Organization of the Islamic Conference and COMESA
as an important tool to achieve to Djibouti's hope for
regional stability, mutual development, and global peace. In
order to achieve this, Guelleh said, "we should spare no
effort on behalf of regional solidarity between neighboring
countries and reinforcement of inter-arab states dialogue."


8. (C) Comment: Guelleh's speech is a verbal outline of his
agenda for the next six years, which places an enormous
importance on social and economic development. The importance
placed on getting the development done right has also been
seen in the rumors regarding who will be in Guelleh's new
cabinet. Talk around town has been indicating that there will
be a significant shake-up in the Ministries. In the past week
or two, the general impression is that Guelleh will fill many
of the key ministerial positions with either technocrats or
professionals rather than politicians. As Guelleh is
currently traveling to Brazil, the U.S. and France,
announcements of new cabinet Ministers are not expected to
begin until his return in two weeks. End Comment.
RAGSDALE