Anniversary of the independence of the Republic of Djibouti
Djibouti was one of the French colonies and was known since 1896 as "French Somaliland". In 1958, a referendum was held to decide whether Djibouti remains a French colony or wether it gains independence and join Somalia. The result of the vote indicated that the country would remain a French colony, noting that there was a suspicion that the result of the voting was rigged in favor of France.
Due to the pressure of Djibouti people and the armed struggle against the French, the French government authorized the holding of another referendum in 1967 to determine the country's destiny, and the result of the vote, with a percentage of 60%, indicated for the second time that Djibouti would remain under the French domination (as claimed by the French government), and the name of Djibouti was changed from "French Somaliland" to "French Territory of the Afars and the Issas".
The people of Djibouti continued to fight and demanded their right to independence until France was forced to hold another referendum on May 8th, 1977, in which the people of Djibouti supported independence by an overwhelming majority of 98.8%, and Djibouti gained independence on June 27th, 1977, to become the last French colony in Africa to gain independence.
Egypt was one of the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with the Republic of Djibouti after its independence in 1977, and soon an Egyptian embassy was opened there.
