Relationship dossier
Djibouti
United Arab Emirates
Relationship assessment
Security and port cooperation have been overshadowed by disputes over the UAE military presence and the Doraleh terminal.
Djibouti toward United Arab Emirates
-35Djibouti ended the UAE military-base arrangement amid a bilateral crisis in 2015. In 2018, its government terminated DP World’s Doraleh terminal concession and took control of the facility, intensifying a major dispute involving UAE commercial interests.
United Arab Emirates toward Djibouti
-25The UAE maintained a military presence in Djibouti under a bilateral arrangement before that arrangement ended amid the 2015 crisis. DP World, a Dubai-based company, also held the Doraleh terminal concession until Djibouti terminated it in 2018; the extent of direct UAE government involvement in the resulting dispute is unclear.
Overall relationship
-25The relationship has included a bilateral security arrangement and a major port concession, but both became sources of dispute. The end of the UAE military presence and the 2018 Doraleh takeover have shaped ties more strongly than the earlier cooperation, while the scope of later engagement remains unclear.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Relations have included concrete security and commercial arrangements, but have also been marked by sharp disputes. Djibouti ended the UAE military-base arrangement amid a 2015 bilateral crisis, and in 2018 took control of the Doraleh container terminal after terminating DP World’s concession. These episodes weigh heavily on the relationship, although their full diplomatic and economic consequences are unclear.
Areas of tension
- The end of the UAE military-base arrangement amid the 2015 bilateral crisis.
- Djibouti’s 2018 termination of DP World’s Doraleh terminal concession and takeover of the facility.
Key developments
Djibouti ended the bilateral arrangement for a UAE military presence amid a diplomatic crisis.
Djibouti terminated DP World’s Doraleh terminal concession and took control of the facility.
Major uncertainties
- The scope and status of subsequent bilateral security and commercial cooperation are unclear.
- The extent to which the Doraleh dispute has affected wider government-to-government relations is uncertain.