Understanding reached with Germany on military missions

Djibouti and Germany have signed a memorandum of understanding on the status of German military and civilian personnel who are on mission in Djibouti, the Djibouti news agency ADI reported. It said the memorandum - signed by Djibouti's acting foreign minister Hawa Ahmed Youssouf and German navy commander Vice-Admiral Lutz Feldt - was a precursor to a final agreement between the two countries. In an interview with the press, Feldt said the accord "will allow German military surveillance missions in the region to have access to Djibouti's port and airport". "Germany and Djibouti are in the same coalition and have a common point of view on the struggle against terrorism," he added in connection with the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks in New York. Feldt has been in Djibouti since 6 January at the head of a 25-member delegation. Last December, a German military delegation had talks with top Djibouti officials on setting up a base camp for German naval forces participating in the fight against global terrorism, a Djibouti government official told IRIN at the time. Meanwhile, France has sent two more surveillance planes to Djibouti, the Agence France Presse (AFP) reported. The French defence ministry announced on Thursday the ATL-2 planes would carry out patrol and intelligence missions in the sea of Oman and off the coast of Somalia. "There is a surveillance action in the framework fixed by the French command, but there is no French intelligence action that violates Somalia's air space," a defence ministry spokesman was quoted as saying.