Group photo of the Djibouti delegation with MAGERWA staff
Djibouti’s unique position at the crossroads of Africa, the Middle East, and global trade routes has made it a major hub for regional and international trade. As the main gateway for Ethiopia’s trade, the Djibouti-Ethiopia corridor handles about 95 percent of Ethiopia’s imports and exports. Despite its world-class port infrastructure, inefficiencies in trade facilitation, institutional coordination, and transport logistics continue to slow trade, leading to high costs, long transit times, and lost economic opportunities for businesses and traders that rely on the corridor.
To address these challenges, Djibouti and Ethiopia are in the process of creating a Corridor Management Authority and a Transport Observatory. The Corridor Management Authority will support coordination of institutions, address trade bottlenecks, and improve the movement of goods. At the same time, the Transport Observatory will collect and analyze real-time trade data, enabling authorities to monitor performance, identify inefficiencies, and implement timely solutions. Together, these initiatives will lower trade costs, shorten transit times, and enhance the competitiveness of businesses operating along the corridor.
To build an effective system, Djibouti is learning from successful trade corridor management models in East Africa. A technical team recently visited The Northern Corridor Transit and Transport Coordination Authority, the Port of Mombasa, Mariakani Weigh In Motion bridge under Kenya National Highways, Taveta OSBP in Kenya, the Central Corridor Transit and Transport Facilitation Agency and Holili OSBP in Tanzania, and the public bonded warehouse of Rwanda (MAGERWA) Rwanda. The delegation was able to see how Corridor Management institutional frameworks promote strong governance structures and collaboration between agencies of countries operating on transit corridors.
Corridor Authorities are generally established to promote corridor efficiency, productivity, and coordination. They are either established through treaties (Northern Corridor) or through multilateral agreements (Central Corridor). The Northern and Central Corridor frameworks in Kenya and Tanzania were put in place to facilitate trade and movement of people, stimulate economic and social development, and enhance coordination of stakeholders along the corridors. The establishment of these authorities have enhanced coordination among institutions on corridors and have demonstrated that when customs authorities, port operators, and transport agencies work together, trade flows improve significantly. The Northern Corridor Transit and Transport Coordination Authority, for instance, has played a key role in reducing delays, improving regulations, and strengthening regional trade cooperation.
Part of the Djibouti Delegation with the Executive Secretary of NCTTCA
Rwanda’s system, in particular, has shown how monitoring essential trade performance indicators such as transit time, customs processing time, dwell time at ports and borders, and road freight charges can help identify bottlenecks, streamline operations, and improve efficiency. With access to accurate data, trade authorities can take timely action to improve infrastructure use, cut clearance times, and reduce the overall cost of doing business.
In East Africa, risk management and cargo security solutions such as electronic cargo tracking have facilitated seamless flow and security of cargo by using a single tracker; new concepts such as integrated border management have enhanced trade facilitation, operational capabilities of borders through intra, inter, and international agency cooperation, and single-window systems have transformed the movement of goods through enabling traders to use single entry points to submit standardized information and documents to fulfill regulatory requirements related to imports, exports, and transit. Rwanda’s experience with MAGERWA, a leading logistics and warehousing company, highlights how digital solutions optimize cargo handling, making trade faster and more efficient. Single-window systems have significantly reduced customs clearance times, ensuring smoother cross-border trade and fewer delays.
Group Photo of the Djibouti delegation with NCTTCA Secretariat staff
Djibouti’s technical team observed how investments in ports, roads, railways, and weighbridges in East Africa have boosted regional connectivity. The Addis Ababa–Djibouti Railway, for example, provided a reliable alternative to road transport. Maintaining and integrating infrastructure will allow Djibouti to strengthen its trade corridor, benefiting both traders and investors.
TradeMark Africa’s Country Director, Achaa Abdillahi Ahmed, commented on the importance of the initiative, stating: “Efficient trade corridors drive economic growth and competitiveness. The Djibouti-Ethiopia corridor holds immense potential, but realizing it requires strong governance, digitalization, and data-driven decision-making. This exchange visit provided valuable insights into proven models that have strengthened trade efficiency and reduced costs in East Africa. By establishing a Corridor Management Authority and a Transport Observatory, Djibouti is not only improving its trade systems but also positioning itself as a regional trade powerhouse, ensuring that goods move faster, trade costs fall, and businesses thrive.”
The establishment of the Corridor Management Authority and Transport Observatory will mark a turning point for Djibouti’s trade ambitions. This initiative forms part of a broader €32 million program funded by the EU through the Agence Française de Développement and implemented by TradeMark Africa, aimed at promoting regional economic integration in the Horn of Africa through the development of the Djibouti corridor.
