AFROCOM Executive Director Stanislav Mezentsev conducted a working visit to Djibouti, the objectives of which were to legally register the AFROCOM office in that country, as well as to prepare for the Russia-Djibouti multidisciplinary business mission scheduled for February 2022. Alexander Egorov, Acting AFROCOM Representative in Djibouti, was also actively involved in the organisation of the current visit.

In the framework of the February business mission it is planned to inaugurate the AFROCOM Business Support Centre in Djibouti, the ceremony will be personally led by the Chairman of the Coordination Committee, Russian Senator Igor Morozov. The event will be preceded by Russia-Djibouti online business forum scheduled for January.

During the visit, AFROCOM's Executive Director held meetings with senior officials including: Secretary of State for Investment and Planning Safia Mohamed Ali Gadileh, Minister of Digital Economy Development and Innovation Mariam Hamadou Ali, Director of the National Tourism Authority Osman Abdi Mohamed, and the Manager of the Djibouti Sovereign Development Fund Slim Feriani. The key event of the past visit to Djibouti was a meeting with Prime Minister Abdulkader Mohamed, which yielded the following extremely important conclusions for Russian-Djiboutian relations:

- Interest in expanding cooperation between the Republic of Djibouti and the Russian Federation was confirmed;

- Djibouti looks forward to organizing on its territory a multidisciplinary mission with Russian business representatives;

- Djibouti is one of the largest logistical bases in Africa, providing transit for the most important economic player in the region - Ethiopia - as well as for several countries of East Africa. By the way, the region is one of the fastest growing regions in the world;

- The Government and President of Djibouti aim to diversify the economy and offer investors cooperation in areas such as the digital economy and tourism. It is worth noting that Djibouti surpasses neighbouring global tourism industry leaders the UAE and Egypt in many natural indicators. The only deterrent to the development of Djibouti's tourism potential remains its underdeveloped infrastructure;

- Djiboutian partners once again expressed particular interest in cooperation with Russian companies, especially in the field of modern technology. All conditions have been created for them here.

Following the visit of AFROCOM Executive Director Stanislav Mezentsev to Djibouti a Memorandum of Cooperation Development was signed between AFROCOM and the National Investment Promotion Agency of Djibouti.

Recall that in 2020, trade turnover between the Russian Federation and Djibouti was $10.3m, having decreased by 59% compared to 2019 due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.