Dschibuti Security Symposium 2024

Dr Stefan Friedrich, Head of the Department Sub-Saharan Africa of the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS), and Mohamed Abdoulkader Moussa, Director of the “Institut des Études Diplomatiques” (Institute for Diplomatic Studies; IED) of the Djiboutian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (both bottom left), jointly opened the speaker's dinner for experts and selected guests on the eve of the symposium.

The opening of the Djibouti Security Symposium 2024 was addressed by Dr Heike Fuller, Ambas-sador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Djibouti (second from left), Nils Wörmer, Head of the Regional Programme Security Dialogue for East Africa (RP SIPODI East Africa) of the KAS (far right), Mohamed Abdoulkader Moussa, Director of the IED (third from left), and Thomas Röwekamp Member of German Bundestag, who had travelled to Djibouti for political discussions and exchange (third from right).

Philipp Dienstbier, Head of the Gulf States Programme of KAS based in Amman, Jordan, came to Djibouti to participate in the symposium and moderated the discussion on geopolitics and geoeconomics in the Red Sea.

Other topics at the symposium included perspectives for the future of Somalia after the end of the ATMIS mission as well as regional implications and scenarios of the current war in Sudan.

General (ret.) Robert Kariuki Kibochi, Chief of Defence of the Kenyan Armed Forces until 2023, explained the challenges in Somalia from a military perspective and provided insights into the challenges of peacebuilding in Somalia.

The participants of the Djibouti Security Symposium 2024, including international diplomats, politicians, academics, military personnel, and other high-ranking representatives of the Republic of Djibouti, took part in a lively exchange with the experts in the panel discussions.

The symposium was opened by remarks from Mohamed Abdoulkader Moussa, Director of the IED, Dr Heike Fuller, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Djibouti, and Thomas Röwekamp, Member of the German Bundestag and the German Defence Committee, who had travelled to Djibouti for political discussions and exchange. The event took place a few months after the adoption of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the KAS and the IED and continued the already existing cooperation between the two organisations. Nils Wörmer, Head of the RP SIDODI East Africa, was pleased with the positive response to the event: “Together with our Djiboutian partner, we have for the first time organised a major and unique discussion event on geopolitical topics and issues in Djibouti. The number and high calibre of participants demonstrates the importance of the topics to be discussed at the symposium. As a dialog programme, we are pleased to contribute to the exchange between Djiboutian and international experts and policy makers.”

On the eve of the symposium, an evening reception was held for the panellists and selected international and Djiboutian guests. Dr Stefan Friedrich, Head of the Sub-Saharan Africa Department of the KAS, who had travelled to Djibouti at the invitation of RP SIPODI East Africa and took part in Thomas Röwekamp’s delegation visit programme, welcomed the guests together with the Director of the IED. Dr Friedrich emphasised the importance of Djibouti as the last stable state in the entire Horn of Africa region and the resulting importance of cooperation with the country. It is crucial for KAS to be active on the ground in order to involve Djiboutian experts in the exchange and political dialog with Germany and Europe.

The symposium began with a panel discussion entitled “Somalia after ATMIS – Perspectives between Collapse and Stabilisation” and was moderated by Nils Wörmer. Ambassador Mohamed Idriss Farah, Chief Adviser to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Djibouti, gave insights into the Djiboutian perspective on the efforts to stabilise the large neighbouring country. Prof. Dr Yahye Ali Ibrahim, Deputy Director of the Somali non-governmental organisation MIND Somalia, explained the challenges facing the Somali state in the fight against the Islamist terrorist militia al-Shabaab and the obstacles to effective and sustainable state-building. The retired General Robert Kariuki Kibochi, acting Chief of Defence of the Kenyan Armed Forces until 2023, explained the military aspects of peacebuilding in Somalia.

The second panel discussion on the topic “The Geopolitics and the Geoeconomics of the Red Sea" was moderated by Philipp Dienstbier, Head of the Gulf States Programme of the KAS based in Amman, Jordan, and included Ambassador Mohamed Ali Hassan, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Djibouti and in this function Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Djibouti, Dr Abdul-Ghani al-Iryani, a Yemeni expert from the Sana'a Center for Strategic Studies and Aziz Alghashian from the Center for Applied Research in Partnership with the Orient (CARPO), who had come from Saudi Arabia.

The last discussion of the day was on the Sudan conflict, its regional implications and possible scenarios. This panel was moderated by Ahmed Araita Ali, who served as Ambassador of the Republic of Djibouti to Japan from 2008 to 2021. The panellists were Khaled Sirelkhatem, a political analyst from Sudan, Dr Hassan Khannanje, Director of the Nairobi-based HORN International Institute for Strategic Studies, Dr Akok Madut, Head of the African Union's Department of Mediation and Dialogue, and Ambassador Isse Khaireh Robleh, Ambassador of the Republic of Djibouti to Sudan.

After the closing remarks by Nils Wörmer and Mohamed Abdoulkader Moussa, the guests and participants had the opportunity to discuss the previously debated topics further at an informal reception with coffee and tea.