Djibouti: Remarks by High Representative Kaja Kallas

Dear Minister Omar, thank you for your warm welcome and thank you for your hospitality here in Djibouti.

Djibouti is a highly valued partner for European Union. I've just visited the ships at sea serving EU naval operations ASPIDES and ATALANTA, and it's a pleasure to be here with you today.

Seeing our sailors at work reminds me and reminds all of us that the freedom of navigation cannot be taken for granted. It must be protected every single day.

For two decades, Djibouti has been one of the European Union's closest maritime security partners in the region. Since Operation ATALANTA was launched in 2008, we have worked side by side to make these waters safer.

Together, we are significantly reducing the threat of piracy and contributing to safety and security at sea. That would not have been possible without Djibouti.

Today, we are building on that partnership.

Operation ASPIDES is safeguarding one of the world's most strategic maritime corridors. ASPIDES is a defensive mission with a clear purpose: protecting civilian shipping.

In the 29 months, the mission has protected more than 670 merchant vessels, saved 128 seafarers, and defended against dozens of Houthi attacks.

Operation ASPIDES is protecting lives, trade, and stability. But ships cannot secure sea lanes without reliable partners on the shore. Djibouti's support, providing fuel, water, food, and logistics, has been essential to our missions.

The Status of Forces Agreement we signed today marks a major step forward in relations between the European Union and Djibouti. It ensures maintaining access to and support for our ships and air assets for as long as they are needed. This agreement will ensure that the European Union continues to play an important role in helping to secure key maritime routes in the Red Sea, and it is needed more than ever across the region.

Maritime security is under growing pressure. Iran's repeated attacks on commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz are unravelling the interim agreement with the United States, while the situation in the Red Sea is once again deteriorating.

The missile threat by the Houthis for international shipping persists. Recent Houthi missile attacks against Saudi Arabia, breaking a four-year truce, are a warning that instability on land quickly becomes insecurity at sea.

When shipping is threatened, supply chains disrupted, prices rise, and families and businesses feel the consequences far beyond this region. That is why today's agreement matters. It's about more than supporting European operations. It's about keeping one of the world's economic lifelines open together.

Minister Omar, thank you again for having us here.

Later today, I will also visit a flagship project of European Union's cooperation in Djibouti, EU-funded seawater desalination plant, which provides 30% of drinkable water to the country. Now, this is a good example how our relations expand beyond security.

So, thank you again for Djibouti's partnership, your trust and your commitment to the shared security. Thank you very much.