PRESS RELEASE: PRESS/TPRB/260

27 February and 1 March 2006

TRADE POLICY REVIEW: DJIBOUTI

Progress has been made in stabilizing the economy; further reforms would help diversification

The reforms undertaken by Djibouti following its civil war (1991-1994) have enabled it to somewhat stabilize its economy but the lack of diversification into areas other than services, mostly port activities, renders the country particularly vulnerable to external shocks, according to a WTO Secretariat report on the trade policies and practices of Djibouti.

Djiboutis capacity to attract foreign direct investment is still limited by several factors, including weaknesses in the legal and judiciary systems, lack of transparency in the taxation system, weak infrastructural facilities, and delayed implementation of policies.

The report calls for structural and taxation reforms, and the strengthening of Djiboutis multilateral commitments, mainly on services, to make its trade regime more predictable and credible; such reforms would help to attract the foreign investment needed to diversify the economy. The international community could contribute to the success of the reforms by according special attention to Djiboutis technical assistance needs, according to the report.

The following documents are available in MS Word format.

Secretariat report

> Contents and summary observations (8 pages, 87KB)

> Economic environment (9 pages, 587KB)

> Trade and investment regimes (16 pages, 148KB)

> Trade policies and practices by measure (22 pages, 463KB)

> Trade policies by sector (25 pages, 307KB)

> Appendix tables (7 pages, 203KB)

Government report (21 pages, 220KB)

Revisions of the above documents may be issued approximately 2 weeks after the meeting.

Chairperson's concluding remarks

Minutes of the meeting are available approximately 6 weeks after the meeting.

Questions and answers by WTO Members are available approximately 6 weeks after the meeting.

Note back to top

Trade Policy Reviews are an exercise, mandated in the WTO agreements, in which member countries trade and related policies are examined and evaluated at regular intervals. Significant developments that may have an impact on the global trading system are also monitored. For each review, two documents are prepared: a policy statement by the government of the member under review, and a detailed report written independently by the WTO Secretariat. These two documents are then discussed by the WTOs full membership in the Trade Policy Review Body (TPRB). These documents and the proceedings of the TPRBs meetings are published shortly afterwards.

Print copies of previous TPR publications are available for sale from the WTO Secretariat, Centre William Rappard, 154 rue de Lausanne, 1211 Genve 21 and through the on-line bookshop.

The TPR publications are also available from our co-publisher Bernan Press, 4611-F Assembly Drive, Lanham, MD 20706-4391, United States.

Schedule of forthcoming reviews back to top

United States: 13 and 15 March 2006

China: 4 and 6 April 2006

United Arab Emirates: 24 and 26 April 2006