The

Djibouti Djibouti, officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden to the east. The country has an area ...

–

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

border was formed during the 19th century via the formation of

French Somaliland French Somaliland (; ; ) was a French colony in the Horn of Africa. It existed between 1884 and 1967, at which became the French Territory of the Afars and the Issas. The Republic of Djibouti is its legal successor state. History French Somalil ...

corresponding to the

Ethiopian Empire The Ethiopian Empire, historically known as Abyssinia or simply Ethiopia, was a sovereign state that encompassed the present-day territories of Ethiopia and Eritrea. It existed from the establishment of the Solomonic dynasty by Yekuno Amlak a ...

in 1897. In 1950s, the frontier received significant demarcation from joint French–Ethiopian boundary commission. The modern Djibouti was bounded by 375 kilometers from tripoint of

Eritrea Eritrea, officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa, with its capital and largest city being Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia in the Eritrea–Ethiopia border, south, Sudan in the west, and Dj ...

on the mountain of Mousa Ali to the tripoint with

Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...

, thus has favorable relations with Ethiopia. The border is essential for trading system for both countries where 97% import and export conducted and the Ethio-Djibouti corridor dominated the trading system of IGAD region with other routes such as Port Sudan, Berbera and Mombasa being of limited importance.

Overview

The

–

border stretches 375 kilometers from tripoint of

on the mountain of Mousa Ali to the tripoint with Somalia. It is primarily based on the formation of

and the

in 1897. In the early 1950, the frontier received substantive demarcation by a joint of French–Ethiopian boundary commission. The modern Djibouti and Ethiopia's boundary shares no disputed territories, and thus have a good relation. There is substantial cross-border trading involving long-standing economic, commercial and cultural relations. This strengthens the two countries' bilateral relations and achieves legal trade flow in accordance with international trade law. Following the first joint border trade committee meeting on 27–30 April 2022, there was a small-scale border trade between the borders, driven by the need to identify and resolve challenges facing implementation of the Djibouti–Ethiopia Border Trade Protocol signed in 2015. The Ethio–Djibouti corridor is important because it played a major role in trade facilitation in the IGAD region, accounting 95% of exports and imports, with other routes (e.g.,

Port Sudan Port Sudan (, Beja: ) is a port city on the Red Sea in eastern Sudan, and the capital of Red Sea State. Port Sudan is Sudan's main seaport and the source of 90% of the country's international trade. The population of Port Sudan was estimated in ...

Berbera Berbera (; , ) is the capital of the Sahil, Somaliland, Sahil region of Somaliland and is the main sea port of the country, located approximately 160 km from the national capital, Hargeisa. Berbera is a coastal city and was the former capital of t ...

and

Mombasa Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital status in 1907. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...

) being of limited importance. On 20 September 2020, the new entry point of the corridor was opened near the town

Balho Balho () is a town located in the Tadjourah Region, Tadjourah Regions of Djibouti, region of Djibouti. It is situated on the National Highway 11 (Djibouti), RN-11 highway. It is situated about 32 kilometres (20 miles) west of Dorra and 6 km (4 mi) ...

at the Northern border to Djibouti. Aside from the border posts in Galafi at the Western border to the Djibouti and Dewele in the southwest, it is the third official entry point between the two countries. In August 2022,

COMESA The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) is a regional economic community in Africa with twenty-one member states stretching from Tunisia to Eswatini. COMESA was formed in December 1994, replacing a Preferential Trade Area whi ...

announced to fund the Ethio-Djibouti corridor with 3.2 million euros.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Djibouti-Ethiopia border International borders Djibouti–Ethiopia border