The authorities of the African state of Djibouti illegally seized a port owned by a company from Dubai.
The African state of Djibouti illegally established control over the Doraleh Container Terminal, owned by the UAE's Dubai Ports, which designed, built, and operated the terminal in accordance with a concession agreement signed in 2006.
The terminal, Djibouti's largest employer and largest source of income, operates profitably. The capture of the terminal is the culmination of the Djibouti campaign, organized in an attempt to force the DP World operator to review the concession terms. These conditions were found to be “fair and reasonable” in a London court of the international arbitral tribunal.
DP World began arbitration in a London court to defend its rights.
Since December last year, Djibouti authorities opposed the concession agreement concluded between DP World and the government. This led to the final demand for the revision of the contract until February 21 and the termination of this contract with the expropriation of all its assets by presidential decree.
“In order to protect our interests, we were forced to appeal again to the arbitration court in London against the government of Djibouti, seeking confirmation that the contracts are valid and binding on the government,” the DP World statement said. “We demand that the government terminate illegal actions and continued to work as partners with us in the same spirit of cooperation that has taken place over the past 18 years, which has brought Djibouti hundreds of millions of dollars directly and indirectly and increased its engagement tive as the leading investment destinations in East Africa. "
