Addis Ababa July 05/2018 Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has presided over the inaugural ceremony of a newly constructed Djibouti International Free Trade Zone at the port of Djibouti today.
Resting on about 240 hectares, the free trade corridor is the biggest free trade facility in Africa built in conjunction with the Djibouti.
The free trade zone will be constructed over a period of ten years at the cost of 3.4 billion USD and is expected to expand to 4,000 hectares.
Foreign investors will be provided with enough construction space to manufacture various commodities of their choice, providing foreign exchange earnings and employment opportunities for young workers.
The facility is instrumental to accelerate regional economic integration in the Horn of Africa, it was learnt.
Ethiopia prioritizes access to such port facilities as a fruitful logistics linkage as fair logistics service fare and for facilitating timely forwarding of commodities.
In the mean time, Ethiopia is expected to propose a reasonable mode of facilitation to meet the interest of those engaged in import-export transactions.
Ethiopia and Djibouti are also expected to streamline on synchronized strategic port services and port clearance services and service hours.
Ethiopia is desirous to start joint ventures to engage in partnership in the areas of port development and facilitation between Galafi substation and Djibouti.
President Omar Hassan Al Bashir of the Republic of Sudan, Mohammed Abdulahi of Somalia and President Paul Kagame of Rwanda were also present on the inaugural ceremony of the free trade zone.
![Rescuers search for survivors on the beach after two boats carrying migrants and refugees capsized off the shore near Godoria, in northeast Djibouti, in January 2019 [International Organization for Migration via AP]](https://i0.wp.com/www.horndiplomat.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/0cc33a2b73604a3cb7f21b5a9d3c4fe6_18.webp?resize=218%2C150&ssl=1 "UN says 38 dead, including children, as migrant boat sinks off Djibouti")
