DJIBOUTI -- SUMMARY OF DJIBOUTI PRESS 12/04/08

UNCLAS DJIBOUTI 000992 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR AF/E, AF/PD, AND INR/AA LONDON, PARIS, ROME FOR AFRICA WATCHER AFRICOM AND CJTF-HOA FOR POLAD E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KPAO KMDR PREL PGOV DJ XA SUBJECT: DJIBOUTI -- SUMMARY OF DJIBOUTI PRESS 12/04/08 REF: STATE 120090 INDEX ¶1. General Ward of Africom in Djibouti (La Nation) ¶2. A Donation at the Right Moment (La Nation) ARTICLES: ¶1. Africom: Le General Ward a Djibouti La Nation Thursday, November 28, 2008 http://www.lanation.dj/news/2008/ln172/nation al.htm The Chief of Staff of the Djibouti Armed Forces, General Fathi Ahmed Houssein, received General William Kip Ward, Commander of the American forces in Africa (AFRICOM) yesterday afternoon. The two men discussed about the ways and means to further military cooperation between their two countries. The Chief of the new U.S. command for Africa (AFRICOM) at the head of a delegation arrived yesterday in Djibouti within the framework of a work visit tour in several countries of the region. General William Kip ward was received by General Fathi Ahmed Houssein to discuss how to enhance the military cooperation between the two countries. This visit is aimed at strengthening the military cooperation between the African countries and the American government through the activities by AFRICOM on the continent. The U.S. Ambassador to Djibouti, James Christopher Swan, and high ranking military officials from AFRICOM attended this meeting at the headquarters of the Djibouti Armed Forces. On Tuesday in Nairobi, General William " Pik " Ward declared that the countries in the region should work together to fight international crime. "Piracy is an issue of concern to everyone. The American Government, through its military, is ready to provide trainings to officers from countries soliciting assistance," he said. ¶2. A Donation at the Right Moment La Nation Tuesday, December 2, 2008 A handover ceremony of computer hardware gathered the American Ambassador, the Director of the Statistics Office of Djibouti (DISED) and other officers of this department that is getting ready for the second general census of the population and habitat. The DISED received computer hardware equipments made up of 20 computers, two printers, a server, a photocopier, two inverters, a video-projector and miscellaneous accessories in order to conduct its census project. These equipment will be very useful during the general census operations the DISED is preparing. "These equipment will serve entering the data relative to the population and the habitat. These data will be collected during the next census of the population, and the habitat that the Djiboutian Government will launch very soon," James Swan, Ambassador of the United States, said. The goal of this donation that is worth US$263,000 is to give the technicians of the DISED the means necessary to conduct the census project. The American diplomat added that donation "will be completed by a technical assistance through the Washington-based American Census Bureau." "This office will put in place training on data entry using the appropriate software (CsPro),and training on the analysis of the data after census. This census is very important to the Djiboutian government because viable data on the population are necessary in order to achieve the development objectives of the country." SWAN