Tanzania Is Strategic Entry Point To Africa, Says India’s Minister Of External Affairs

By Prosper Makene

India’s Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar who visited Tanzania over the weekend said that the East African country is strategically positioned itself as the entry point to the continent.

Jaishankar who also hold talks with Tanzania president Samia Suluhu Hassan also said that India is making efforts to improve cooperation with African countries.

“We are seeking to expand trade, grow investments, promote ICT collaboration, enhance defense and security ties, and encourage people-to-people contacts,” he said.

He adds: “All of this is underpinned by time-tested political understanding. We are particularly proud of our water partnership, which will bring drinking water to 8 million Tanzanians when the projects are completed.”

Both India and Tanzania have strong economic growth, and the opportunities to collaborate will only increase as a consequence.

On his part, India’s Secretary for Economic Relations from the Ministry of External Affairs, Mr Dammu Ravi, said Tanzania is considered a strategic point for India’s relationship with East Africa.

However, Indian Prime Minister Modi strongly believes that India’s friendship and solidarity with Africa should be expressed in practical projects. And these must be determined by the priorities of their partners.

India and Tanzania have identified areas where they performed well and also areas where are needed to work harder.

Emerging areas of cooperation between the two countries include trade in national currency, the Indian Industrial Park, space cooperation, and digital technology, among others.

Apart from the Joint Commission, New Delhi’s government has several institutional arrangements with Tanzania on trade, defense, water, and counterterrorism, to name a few. The institutional mechanisms allow focused and result-oriented discussions on specific sectors and have been helpful to both sides.

Apart from that, India has established ICT centres at the Dar es Salaam Institute of Technology (DIT) and the Nelson Mandela African Institute of Science and Technology.

Meanwhile, during the Covid-19 pandemic, the government of India supported over 16 million vaccine doses to 100 countries including several nations in Africa.

India-Tanzania also enjoyed good cooperation in the health sector of Doctors and health specialists from Tanzanian hospitals and the Ministry of Health have been attending healthcare training courses in India.