Djibouti’s Minister of Finance, Elias Muse Dawaleh, gave an interview to the BBC Somali channel, in which he said how in the last year the country has lost half of its national wealth, or $1.7 billion, due to declining revenues and employment.
The economy of this country, already suffering from coping with the effects of locust infestation, COVID-19 and climate change, has been hit hard then by the conflict in Ethiopia.
A year after clashes began in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region, the conflict has exacerbated disruptions in supply chains between the two countries while trade has declined dramatically.
More than 90 percent of Addis Ababa’s goods pass through the port of Djibouti, with an estimated $1.5 billion to $2 billion in business.
The two countries have invested billions of dollars in building a trade route that will give Ethiopia direct access to a seaport, including a 470-mile rail line connecting the port of Djibouti to Addis Ababa.
The ongoing conflict in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region will not only have a negative impact on Ethiopia’s future, but will also have a devastating effect on neighboring countries, according to Minister Elias Muse Dawaleh.
