By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Djibouti has named a new foreign minister to replace Mahamoud Ali Youssouf, following his appointment as the head of the African Union in February, according to a presidential decree published on Tuesday.
Abdoulkader Houssein Omar, a former ambassador to Kuwait and Jordan, has been appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, succeeding Youssouf, who held the position for nearly 20 years.
Youssouf, who had served as foreign minister since 2005, was elected chairperson of the African Union’s executive commission in February after securing the support of two-thirds of the region’s leaders in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. He now represents approximately 1.5 billion Africans across the continent.
“We are not talking about a ministerial reshuffle; this is the only change within the government,” Alexis Mohamed, a spokesman for the Djibouti presidency, told AFP.
The decree was signed by President Ismail Omar Guelleh, who has been in power since 1999 and is expected to step down in next year’s presidential election.
A small coastal nation with a population of about one million, Djibouti plays a key strategic role in the region’s economy.
Situated near the Red Sea in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, it lies along one of the world’s busiest trade routes. It serves as a rare island of stability in a volatile region, directly across from Yemen, and is Ethiopia’s main import hub via its port.
The country also hosts military bases for France, its former colonial power, as well as the United States and China, underlining its geopolitical importance.
