Ahmad 
The French President, Emmanuel Macron, and the Djiboutian President, Ismail Omar Guillet, agreed at the Elysee Palace to renew the defense partnership between the two countries, after two years of negotiations.
According to the French presidency’s statement, the two heads of state agreed to “conclude discussions on the ambitious reform of the defense cooperation treaty between France and Djibouti.”
The statement indicated that the agreement provides “a framework for the presence of French forces stationed in Djibouti (1,500 soldiers), which is the largest French military unit abroad.”
The Elysee stressed that “the updated version of the Defense Cooperation Treaty reflects the excellent relationship that prevails between our two countries and the convergence of our strategic interests,” although the French presidency has not officially indicated the signing of the agreement yet.
This announcement comes at a time when France plans to reduce its military presence in West and Central Africa to only a few hundred men, after a series of setbacks in the Sahel region in recent years.
It is noteworthy that French forces recently closed military bases in Mali and Niger in the wake of the growing national liberation movements rejecting colonialism in both countries, but there was absolutely no thought of abandoning Djibouti, France’s largest permanent base abroad.
The defense agreement was signed, for the first time, between the two countries in 1977 when the former French colony gained its independence and was renewed in 2011.
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