To modernise its administration, Djibouti is looking to the Caucasus. On Thursday, November 5, 2026, in Baku, Djibouti’s Minister of Labour in charge of Formalisation and Social Protection, Yonis Ali Guedi, signed a memorandum of understanding with Azerbaijan’s State Agency for Public Service and Social Innovations, better known as ASAN Service. The text provides for the sharing of expertise and best practices in digitalisation and administrative modernisation.
The signing took place on the sidelines of the UN Governance Innovation Summit, held on November 5 and 6 in the Azerbaijani capital and co-organised by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs and the ASAN agency. Nearly 200 participants from more than 70 countries had been expected. Djibouti was not the only signatory: ASAN concluded similar agreements with the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) and with Sri Lanka.
The model that appeals to Djibouti rests on a simple idea. Created in 2012, ASAN Service works as a one-stop shop: instead of travelling from one ministry to another, citizens complete their procedures within a single network of centres, supported by digital tools. According to a United Nations study, in 2021 the system brought together some 320 services provided by 11 public bodies and 26 private organisations, with mobile units to reach areas far from cities. Azerbaijani officials now cite more than 400 services and cooperation with over 50 countries to export the model, which received the UN Public Service Award in 2015.
This rapprochement did not come out of nowhere. In September 2025, a Djiboutian delegation had already travelled to Azerbaijan to observe how ASAN centres operate, from their organisational methods to the innovations used to deliver services. The memorandum therefore formalises an effort that has been under way for more than a year.
The needs are real. In October 2025, the delegate ministry for the Digital Economy and Innovation drew up an inventory of 503 administrative services, 281 for citizens and 187 for businesses. Of these, 83 were deemed priorities for a first phase of digitalisation. The assessment carried out across ministries also revealed a fragmented administration and highly uneven levels of digital equipment from one department to the next.
Djibouti would not be the first African country to take this route. In neighbouring Ethiopia, the MESOB public service centres were designed on the ASAN model, and in June 2025 Addis Ababa hosted a regional forum organised by the Azerbaijani agency at the African Union headquarters.
One detail stands out: the agreement was signed by the Labour minister, not by the ministry in charge of digital affairs. That choice reflects the cross-cutting nature of the reform, which touches the formalisation of the economy and social protection as much as technology. It also raises the question of coordination between government bodies, precisely one of the weaknesses identified in the 2025 assessment.
The task now is to move from inspiration to implementation. A memorandum opens the door to training and experience-sharing, but adapting a one-stop model to Djibouti’s realities will require investment, infrastructure and lasting political will.