German FM Baerbock's trip to Djibouti diverted due to lacking permit

DPA
·2 min read
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock gives a press statement upon her arrival at the airfield in Jeddah. Michael Kappeler/dpa
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock gives a press statement upon her arrival at the airfield in Jeddah. Michael Kappeler/dpa
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German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock's trip to Djibouti in East Africa has been delayed because her government jet failed to receive permission to fly over Eritrea.

Baerbock's plane was instead diverted to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, where the delegation will spend the night before attempting to continue the trip to Djibouti on Thursday.

Baerbock's Airbus A321LR aircraft landed in the Saudi port city at 2:15 pm (1315 GMT) after previously circling over the Red Sea for more than an hour.

Sources told dpa that the delay was because the German Armed Forces Air Wing did not secure permission from Eritrea for an overflight permit. The sources said a power outage at the Eritrean Foreign Ministry compounded the problem.

In view of attacks launched on ships in the Red Sea by the Iranian-backed Houthi militants in Yemen, it was also not possible to fly around Eritrea at short notice, according to the delegation.

Baerbock was originally scheduled to meet Djibouti's foreign minister, Mahamoud Ali Youssouf, on Wednesday afternoon.

Baerbock left Germany with plans to visit Djibouti, Kenya and South Sudan over the coming days for crisis diplomacy talks focused on the bloody power struggle being waged between rival factions in Sudan.

In addition to the conflict in Sudan, the attacks on Red Sea shipping are also expected to be high on the agenda for Baerbock's trip.

The Bab al-Mandeb Strait, one of the central arteries of the international trade system, runs between Djibouti and Yemen and is only 27 kilometres wide, Baerbock said before her departure.

"It is in our common interest to ensure the safety of maritime shipping in this bottleneck of the global economy, she said.

Baerbock's foreign travel has been plagued with technical issues in recent months.

Her departure for the three-day trip was complicated by engine trouble with the planned government aircraft, leading Baerbock to depart Germany on a troop transport aircraft instead.

In August, Baerbock had to cancel a long-planned trip to Australia, New Zealand and Fiji in August after technical problems on her older government aircraft forced her to land in Abu Dhabi.

The two long-haul Airbus A340 aircraft belonging to Germany's air force have since been taken out of service.