Sankalp Gurjar is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Geopolitics and International Relations, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Karnataka, India. Prior to that, he worked as a Research Fellow at the Indian Council of World Affairs, New Delhi. He works on International Relations of the Indo-Pacific, Great Power Politics, and the Geopolitics of the Indian Ocean Region. He was trained at the Department of International Relations, South Asian University (a university established by SAARC nations) and Fergusson College, Pune.

• Preface Introduction 1 Why Djibouti Matters 2 A French Homecoming? 3 From Kilimanjaro to California 4 The Confl uence of the Two Seas 5 Building a New Silk Road Conclusion Index

Sankalp Gurjar is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Geopolitics and International Relations, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Karnataka, India. Prior to that, he worked as a Research Fellow at the Indian Council of World Affairs, New Delhi. He works on International Relations of the Indo-Pacific, Great Power Politics, and the Geopolitics of the Indian Ocean Region. He was trained at the Department of International Relations, South Asian University (a university established by SAARC nations) and Fergusson College, Pune.

• Preface Introduction 1 Why Djibouti Matters 2 A French Homecoming? 3 From Kilimanjaro to California 4 The Confl uence of the Two Seas 5 Building a New Silk Road Conclusion Index

Sankalp Gurjar is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Geopolitics and International Relations, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Karnataka, India. Prior to that, he worked as a Research Fellow at the Indian Council of World Affairs, New Delhi. He works on International Relations of the Indo-Pacific, Great Power Politics, and the Geopolitics of the Indian Ocean Region. He was trained at the Department of International Relations, South Asian University (a university established by SAARC nations) and Fergusson College, Pune.

• Preface Introduction 1 Why Djibouti Matters 2 A French Homecoming? 3 From Kilimanjaro to California 4 The Confl uence of the Two Seas 5 Building a New Silk Road Conclusion Index