His Excellency President of Republic of Djibouti, Mr. Ismail Omar Guelleh inaugurated Commercial Bank of Djibouti on 20 May 2015 by cutting the ribbon at the Head Office of the bank. His Excellency President of Republic of Djibouti, Mr. Ismail Omar Guelleh visited the Bank Head Office along with Her Excellency First Lady Madam Kadra Mahmoud Haid, Prime Minister Abdoulkader Kamil Mohamed, Governor of the Central Bank Djibouti and Senior officials of Central Bank of Djibouti. He expressed his satisfaction and comfort after inspecting the banking premises of CBD. Her Excellency First Lady Madam Kadra Mahmoud Haid was impressed with the infrastructure and set up at the Head Office of the bank.
First Lady Madam Kadra Mahmoud Haid was pleased to witness the optimal blend of traditional Djiboutian culture with the professional setup of CBD. Two little girls attired in traditional Djiboutian dress were extremely delighted to present the bouquets to the President and the First Lady.
The President said “the opening of the Commercial Bank of Djibouti, the first commercial bank of our country is the sign of a new impetus to the development of Djibouti. If the Djiboutian banking landscape continues to expand year by year, the installation of a bank designed specifically to meet the specific needs of companies is a remarkable step forward”.
The Governor of Central Bank, Mr. Ahmed Osman said “the inauguration of Commercial Bank of Djibouti is different from the inauguration ceremonies of the other banks as CBD is the First Bank created which will be dedicated to provide the banking facilities to companies and projects”.
The ceremony at the bank was followed by a formal function at the Kempinski Palace Hotel in Djibouti which was also attended by the Council of Ministers, Ambassadors of various countries, Senior Diplomats, Key Government officials, Chief Executive Officers of various banks in Djibouti and leading businessmen and other distinguished personalities of Djibouti.
The Chief Executive Officer of CBD, Mr. Rajat Mittal said “ Commercial Bank of Djibouti is not any other bank but aspires to be the number one bank in the country. Commercial Bank of Djibouti aspires to be the premier banking organisation with world class services infrastructure, offering the required banking products and soon become the preferred banking partner of Corporates in the country”.
The Chairman of CBD Group, Dr. Harry Moraes explained the vision of the bank by saying that “Commercial Bank of Djibouti aspires to be the premier banking organisation with world class services infrastructure, offering the required banking products and soon become the preferred banking partner of Corporates in the country”.
Chairman of CBD, Dr. Harry Moraes also commented that “Our Ideology is aligned to the long term vision of the President H.E. Ismail Omar Guelleh and his Government to contribute to make Djibouti the hub of commercial and industrial activity in the region. We share the dream of the President and the people of the country and aspire to be the facilitators to turn those dreams for the country into reality.”
Mr. Don Moraes, Director CBD said in his speech to the audience “One of the main objectives of the bank is to participate in the success story of economic growth of the country and to further strengthen the Government program to bring investments to the country. This will contribute towards the long term efforts of the government in upliftment of the socio economic conditions of the society by generating employment directly and also indirectly by helping the infrastructure growth & supporting the industrial expansion and corporates growth with world class banking services.”
His speech invoked lot of interest from the audience and he was awarded with loud applause on his comment that “Djibouti has an advantageous strategic location on one of the busiest sea routes in the world, providing port access to rapidly growing Ethiopia and oil-rich South Sudan.
The Governor of Central Bank of Djibouti, His Excellency Mr. Ahmed Osman acknowledged the contribution of Board of CBD by saying “The promoters of the CBD are enlightened businessmen who scrutinize uncompromising economic opportunities before venturing into a project as expensive as this one. In electing Djibouti to establish their project, they show that this is indeed the place to create a bank. Our financial center remains very attractive and has not finished deploying its full potential.”
His Excellency reminded that the development oriented policies of the President of the Republic, His Excellency Ismail Omar Guelleh, which are promoted by his government, are for sophisticated investors such as promoters of the CBD, and those policies foster a clear and exciting path for the investments.
His Excellency President of Republic of Djibouti, Mr. Ismail Omar Guelleh addressed the audience with his captivating speech acknowledging the contributions by the Foreign Investors to the Socio Economic development of the country and assuring them of the strong growth potential of Djibouti. He said that “We all know, developing countries like ours face many obstacles when it comes to mobilizing own resources either for large-scale projects or simply to support a dynamic private sector. The savings-investment-growth link remains at the heart of the issue of financial sector development and the ability of financial institutions to play their intermediation role. Consequently, the establishment, both, relevant financial infrastructures such as Commercial Bank of Djibouti and stable financial markets is essential to preserve the national capital and provide local investors with attractive investment opportunities.”
His Excellency President Ismail Omar Guelleh stressed on the importance of role that banks play in the economic growth of any country and said “The transformation of our economy certainly requires a change in our way of understanding the access to capital. While there is no doubt that the role of the regulator remains crucial to ensure stability and to establish the confidence to reduce the risk and thus the cost of credit, it is the responsibility of the banks to support the growth of economy by proposing financial products tailored to the needs of the various economic players, whether SMEs or industry.”
He encouraged domestic banks to play their full role in financial intermediation and to be less reticent about the opportunities of commercial and industrial credits.
His Excellency President Ismail Omar Guelleh admired the confidence that CBD has shown in the economy of Djibouti and said “As such I would like to greet the Dr. Harry Moraes who never stopped believing in the economic potential of Djibouti and thank him for the confidence he gives us. I hope that this inauguration will be only the beginning of the transformation of our financial and banking system, the cornerstone of any economic development.”
His Excellency, The Governor of Central Bank, Mr. Ahmed Osman further added that “CBD is another concrete manifestation of the presence of this international group in Djibouti. This new so-called “business” bank specializes in business finance and support for projects. He said that the contribution of CBD will be crucial for the SME sector which often faces the lack of sufficient resources for their development.”
His Excellency, The Governor of Central Bank, Mr. Ahmed Osman also said that “through these financial infrastructure modernization projects, we hope to accelerate the process of penetration of financial services in the spheres not yet invested by them and thus greatly increase the level of banking services to our population.
Ms. Shalmali Moraes, Director, Commercial Bank of Djibouti said that “the trust and support provided by the highest offices of the Government of Djibouti has encouraged us to participate and build up on the success story of the country and become the most trusted banking organisation for the business community in the country.”
Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Rajat Mittal said that “Commercial Bank of Djibouti is committed to introduce different service delivery channels and take the way the banking is done in the country to the new level.”
Mr. Don Moraes, Director, CBD said that “The investment done by multinational foreign industrial groups in Djibouti is testament of sound economic fundamentals and strong growth potential along the development trajectory.”
Recognizing the networking capabilities of the group His Excellency, The Governor of Central Bank, Mr. Ahmed Osman commented that “In addition to its financial potential, the group is best positioned to mobilize through its global network of funds and valuable new partners in socio-economic development of our country.”