By Adonis Byemelwa
High-level talks last week in Dar es Salaam saw Tanzania and Rwanda deepen their commitment to strengthening economic ties, with the prospect of a new regional trade direction. The talks, chaired by President Samia Suluhu Hassan and her Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame, were aimed at addressing trade bottlenecks and fast-tracking cross-border infrastructure.
Bilateral trade has historically been modest but is increasing, with estimates of around $200–300 million a year in recent years. Both governments believe this is an underestimate, especially as Rwanda relies on Tanzanian ports and corridors to access international markets.
The visit, President Samia argued, was part of a wider strategy of turning Tanzania into a regional logistics hub. She also added during a news conference, “Our partnership is not just about our two countries, it is building East Africa better connected and more competitive, which works for our people.”
Rwanda President Kagame, a longtime proponent of continental integration, linked the deliberations to the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). He added that Africa has “very fragmented markets, and that continues to be a structural constraint,” adding: “It is implementation, not so-called promos, or agreements, that will make AfCFTA work.
The discussions focused on infrastructure, with a special emphasis on the Central Corridor, which connects Dar es Salaam to Kigali. Rail and road network improvements are expected to reduce transit times between as much as a week for some freight journeys to just a few days if planned works proceed on schedule.
At the heart of these ambitions is Tanzania’s still-under-construction standard-gauge railway. When fully operational, it is expected to revolutionise inland cargo movement, such as for Rwanda, Burundi and parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Partnership, which is driven by basics, Tanzania has the highest GDP of just over $80 billion, which has expanded by an annual average rate of around 5%, while neighbouring Rwanda has a vast gap in GDP with around $14 billion, but high growth rates are limited by geography and logistics costs.
Reducing those costs is critical. Transport costs in East Africa can reach 40% of the final goods price, which is particularly burdensome for landlocked economies like Rwanda. Inefficiencies at border posts and ports are a chronic problem, officials from both sides acknowledge.
Moreover, what they said about security was far more subtle. Eastern Congo has been a source of periodic instability in the Great Lakes region, with waves of violence stemming from Rwanda and Uganda disrupting trade routes between East Africa and continental markets and complicating any investment planning. The two leaders underlined the importance of stability as a prerequisite for economic progress.
Samia further said that with Tanzania being at the forefront of peacekeeping missions in the region, “peace and security are a prerequisite to trade and development.” Her comments highlighted the intersection of geopolitical realities in the region and economic policy.
Diversification of trade routes is not only an economic priority for Rwanda, but also a strategic one. Indeed, it has already poured significant investment into alternative corridor routes via Kenya and Uganda, but closer collaboration with Tanzania would increase its resilience in the face of disruptive events.
The visit also shed light on the non-tariff barriers that still block intra-African trade, despite its formalisation. Delays, regulatory gaps, and administrative collisions are common problems traders often complain about, which they say add costs and act as a deterrent to cross-border trade.
It will take more than politics to tackle these problems. Traditionally, analysts say, many obligations in the East African Community have hit roadblocks at the implementation stage, and whether this latest one will lead to anything substantive remains to be seen.
However, there are grounds for cautious optimism. The two governments seem to agree that infrastructure alone will not do the job without regulatory reform. A broader agenda discussed included moves to harmonise standards and digitise customs procedures, the sources said.
Samia’s comments had a practical ring when he returned from the visit. Not only did we agree on what needs to be done, but also, how [to implement it], she said, indicating progress could be monitored.
Deep down, Kagame has always seen regional integration not as a political goal but rather an economic imperative. His case for AfCFTA has been that, for African countries to compete more effectively, African economies must grow together, and he echoed this view during the Dar es Salaam discussions.
Additionally, the wider context is of a tentatively evolving economic recovery on the continent, where countries are torn between domestic aspirations and regional ambitions. Closer cooperation for Tanzania and Rwanda presents an opportunity to boost growth, but also a platform for mutual risks.
The question will be whether the promises in Dar es Salaam get put into concrete benefits: that will come down to execution. Infrastructure projects ought to be delivered on time, regulatory reforms enforced uniformly, and political zeal should persist well beyond the symbolism of high-level summits.
However, the renewed partnership acknowledges, for now at least, that geography need not be destiny. Tanzania and Rwanda are re-jigging the economic map of East Africa, one corridor and one agreement at a time, by investing in connectivity and cooperation.
