Djibouti Keeps Wary Eye on Eritrea, Somali Pirates, Al Shabaab

By Mohamed Siad Doualeh

His Excellency Mr. Mohamed Siad Doualeh is the Ambassador of Djibouti to the United States and the Permanent Representative of Djibouti to the United Nations. Before this, he served as Special Envoy to the IGAD-led Process for Somalia as a member of the IGAD Facilitation Committee. In that position, he was a key member of the Djibouti ministerial delegation to the special session of the Security Council on Sudan and Somalia held in Nairobi, Kenya. He also briefly served as Special Envoy to the IGAD-led Sudan Peace Process in 2001. Ambassador Doualeh holds a Masters in British and American Literature and Civilization. He speaks English and French fluently.

U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis made a trip to Djibouti in April in a show of friendship with the small East African country, at a time when other nations are also bolstering relations with Djibouti. China, for example, is building its first overseas military base there, just a few miles from Camp Lemonnier, the U.S. military’s primary base in the Horn of Africa. The Cipher Brief’s Kaitlin Lavinder asked H.E. Mohamed Siad Doualeh, Djibouti’s Ambassador to the United States, about the strength of relations with the U.S. and top security threats that the U.S. and Djibouti are watching.  

The Cipher Brief: U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis visited Djibouti in April. After his meeting with Djibouti President Ismail Omar Guelleh, he issued a statement saying that the partnership between the U.S. and Djibouti is “strengthening.” What does that mean? And how close is the current defense/military relationship between the U.S. and Djibouti?

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