Djibouti International FTZ to serve as a pivot for B&R in Africa

China-built International Free Trade Zone (FTZ) in Djibouti is expected to serve as a pivot for the Belt and Road (B&R) Initiative in Africa.

China Merchants Group (CMG) is one of the investors and operators of Djibouti International FTZ. Huang Mingyuan, deputy chief representative of CMG in Djibouti, said that Djibouti holds an important position by connecting Asia, Africa and Europe. Besides, it is also an important node of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.

According to Huang, Djibouti International FTZ will focus on logistics distribution, commodity distribution, simple export processing and business support service.

“We hope to build the FTZ into a comprehensive service platform, which not only serves for the B&R Initiative and China-Africa production capacity cooperation, but also helps promote Djibouti to become a regional shipping center and commercial center,” noted Huang.

The FTZ will not only facilitate trade and customs clearance, but also serve as a platform for Chinese products and services to go out. Djibouti is expected to become Africa's trade center and important logistics node. It will also drive the further development of East and Central Africa by coordinating with ports and the Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway, Huang noted.

In addition, the export processing area of the FTZ will undertake relatively simple labor-intensive industries and promote the industrialization of the country. The products of the FTZ will be exported to African, European and American markets as well as the Middle East.