DP World Hits Back at Djibouti Share Purchase

DP World, in a statement released by the government of Dubai, has announced that it will continue to pursue all legal means in its dispute over the Doraleh Container Terminal (DCT), following what it calls “Djibouti’s blatant disregard for the rule of law”.

The statement is in response to the Djiboutian government’s announcement, on September 10, that it will nationalise all shares held by the Port of Djibouti, S.A (PDSA) in the DCT.

Djibouti’s move came after England’s High Court upheld a ruling by the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) that judged the Djibouti-DP World concession agreement on the DCT legally binding.

Djibouti assumed control of the DCT in February 2018, which it defended by claiming the concession agreement unfairly favoured DP World.

DP World has insisted that Djibouti’s shares purchase was prohibited under the High Court ruling, and described it as “the latest step in the Government of Djibouti’s five-year campaign to take the 2006 Concession Agreement away from DCT.”

In its statement, DP World says: “Investors across the world must think twice about investing in Djibouti and reassess any agreements they may have with a government that has no respect for legal agreements and changes them at will without agreement or consent.

“In an apparent attempt to circumvent the injunction, on 9 September 2018, the Government of Djibouti transferred PDSA’s shares in DCT to itself.

“The new decree was accompanied by a press release replete with untrue statements. It also refers to DP World being paid fair compensation in accordance with international law.

“The 2006 Concession Agreement, which is governed by English law, provides that disputes relating to the Agreement are to be resolved through binding arbitration in the London Court of International Arbitration.

“Such arbitration proceedings are ongoing. To date the Government has not made any offer to compensate DP World”.