Djibouti Port Director Describes How BRI Greatly Expanded Africa’s Trade and Development

March 27, 2019 (EIRNS)—Aboubaker Omar Hadi, chairman of Djibouti Ports and Free Zone Authority, told Xinhua on the sidelines of the Africa CEO Forum in Kigali, Rwanda, that “projects involving cooperation with China,” such as the Ethiopia-Djibouti railway and the Doraleh Multi-Purpose Port and international free trade zone—“are helping Djibouti promote trade in Africa as well as distribution across the East African region.” More than $40 billion in exports and imports has been recorded through Djibouti ports, “which couldn’t be achieved without developing proper infrastructure, such as sea ports and railway connections,” he said. “I am expecting more movements of goods, infrastructure development from the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation slated for April in Beijing, as well as stronger interconnection between Africa and the rest of the world,” he told Xinhua News.

Hadi also countered accusations against China by Western countries, that Africans’ cooperation with the BRI is letting some African countries fall into a debt trap, are “complete nonsense, as benefits generated from infrastructure construction will far exceed the investment.”