Djibouti appoints new foreign minister after Mahamoud Ali Youssouf's election as head of AU

Mahamoud Ali Youssouf, who was elected as head of the African Union in February, according to a presidential decree published Tuesday.

Abdoulkader Houssein Omar, a former ambassador to Kuwait and Jordan, was appointed minister of foreign affairs and international cooperation, replacing Youssouf who served in the position for almost 20 years.

"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 be replaced in the next scheduled presidential election in 2026.

Geopolitically strategic

The tiny coastal nation of Djibouti has only about one million people but plays a key strategic role in the region.

Positioned at the mouth of the Red Sea in the Bab-el-Mandeb strait -- one of the world's busiest trade routes -- it serves as a rare island of stability in a volatile region, directly across from Yemen.

The country hosts military bases for France, the former colonial power, as well as the United States and China, reflecting its growing geopolitical importance.

TRT Global - Cold War on the Red Sea: France clutches at straws in Djibouti

France's diminishing neocolonialist clout in Africa after the forced exit of its troops from several Sahelian countries makes its military base in Djibouti the key to retaining a foothold on the continent.

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