15 April 2026

‘Our geography is our oil’: Why Djibouti hosts many foreign military bases

Faisal Ali

It also hosts the densest cluster of foreign military bases in the world, with bases from the United States, China, France, Japan and Italy operating within miles of each other along its coastline.

These countries, seeking bases for both commercial and security purposes, have been warmly welcomed by President Ismail Omar Guelleh, who has ruled for at least two decades and leveraged the country’s strategic location to advance his own aims. As Djiboutians go to the polls on Friday with Guelleh safely expected to win his sixth term, it is a strategy that has never looked more consequential.

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