The Djibouti Corridor is a strategic economic portal that gives landlocked Ethiopia access to the country’s ports. The upgrades on the corridors will strengthen the two countries’ positions in the global trade market via its seaports. This is a pilot project designed to support the initiative’s second focus area, boosting trade and economic integration in the region.
The development of the Djibouti Corridor and rehabilitation of the existing spur roads will make way for robust trade facilitation. Creating digital economic portals and opportunities will decongest the cross-border logistics traffic thereby improving the delivery of services and support the downstream industries.
The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Regional COVID-19 Programme complements the major regional projects, with its mandate to coordinate national responses to the coronavirus pandemic. Included in this programme is the facilitation of safe cross-border transit and trade, and the promotion of digital solutions to monitor the crises, helping to minimize the impact of the pandemic in the Horn of Africa.
The objectives are:
(i) Improved efficiency and capacity of the Djibouti Corridor,
(ii) More harmonized trading and regulatory framework between Djibouti, Ethiopia and other countries in the region
(iii) Enhanced trade capacity for Djiboutian and Ethiopian companies in comparative advantage sectors and
(iv) More inclusive trade for marginalized groups with special attention for people living in vulnerable situations.
The project focuses on pillar (ii) trade and economic integration, but with implications on all four pillars. The action will strengthen regional integration and connectivity between Ethiopia and Djibouti and achieve enhanced and more inclusive business competitiveness to trade.
The project will be funded by the European Union with an amount of EUR 32 000 000.
