This article examines a strategically critical but still fragmented maritime space linking Djibouti, Berbera, Bosaso, Mogadishu, Eritrean ports (Assab and Massawa), and Port Sudan with Gulf hubs such as Jeddah, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Doha. Despite its growing importance as a bridge between Africa, the Middle East, and the wider Indian Ocean economy, the system still operates more through parallel bilateral connections than through coordinated regional network logic. Using the Malacca–ASEAN–Indian Ocean system as a comparative reference, the analysis argues that global trade is increasingly organised not around linear routes, but around integrated logistics ecosystems shaped by interconnected ports, chokepoints, transshipment hubs, and digital-regulatory infrastructures.

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The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) represents one of the most ambitious integration projects in modern economic history. Yet beneath the continental vision lies a deeper and rarely discussed contradiction: in many African countries, goods still encounter “borders” long before reaching an international frontier. Kenya offers a striking illustration of this paradox. Widely regarded as one of East Africa’s most dynamic and commercially integrated economies, the country nonetheless continues to experience significant internal trade fragmentation. The movement of some commodities across counties is frequently constrained by overlapping local levies, cess charges, movement permits, road fees, and administrative controls imposed by local authorities.

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