Her Excellency Dr. Samia Suluhu Hassan, President of the United Republic of Tanzania’s State Visit to India, October 8-10, 2023

President Samia Suluhu Hassan of Tanzania visited India at invitation of President Droupadi Murmu from October 8-10, 2023. The events took place at Kaushal Bhawan,New Moti Bagh in New Delhi,Delhi. She was accompanied by a high-level delegation including the Minister for Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation Hon. January Makamba (MP).

• She also attended the India-Tanzania Business and Investment Forum on October 10, 2023.
• The two countries inked six agreements providing for cooperation in the digital domain, culture, sports, maritime industries and white shipping information sharing.

India and Tanzania Sign 6 MoUs 

The two leaders elevated the Indo-Tanzania relationship to a ‘Strategic Partnership,’ focusing on areas such as maritime security, defense cooperation, development partnership, and trade and investment.

MoUs and Agreements exchanged:

Five-Year Roadmap for Defense Cooperation:

India and Tanzania have agreed on a five-year plan to enhance bilateral defense cooperation, focusing on areas such as infrastructure development and collaboration in military equipment and technology.

i.The 2nd Joint Defence Cooperation Committee(JDCC) meeting in Arusha on June 28-29, 2023, yielded a five-year defense cooperation plan, highlighting expanded collaboration, such as the deployment of the Indian Military Training Team in Tanzania.

ii.Tanzania also expressed appreciation for the deployment of the Indian Military Training Team (IMTT) at the Command and Staff College in Duluti.

iii.Two successful Defense Expos in Dar es Salaam on May 31, 2022, and October 2, 2023, with Indian defense company participation, have sparked enthusiasm for expanding defense industry cooperation.

India and Tanzania Sign MoUs in Maritime and Sports; Indian Navy to Share White Shipping Information.

India and Tanzania emphasized the need for mutual coordination to address challenges in maritime security, piracy, and drug trafficking in the Indian Ocean region. They expressed satisfaction with the first-ever India-Tanzania Joint Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) surveillance exercise in July 2023, coinciding with the visit of the Indian Naval Ship Trishul to Zanzibar and Dar es Salaam.

They also commended the first-ever trilateral maritime exercise involving India, Tanzania, and Mozambique in the Mozambique Channel during the visit of the Indian Naval Ship Tarkash in October 2022.

India exploring trade in local currencies with Tanzania

India and Tanzania are exploring trade in local currencies as part of their efforts to boost trade and investment. Both countries consider each other important partners in trade and investment.

i.The Reserve Bank of India has allowed authorized banks to open Special Rupee Vostro Accounts (SRVA) for correspondent banks of Tanzania to facilitate transactions in local currencies (i.e., Indian Rupee and Tanzanian Shilling).

ii.The bilateral trade between India and Tanzania stands at USD 6.4 billion of which India’s exports alone amount to USD 3.9 billion and imports worth USD 2.4 billion in 2022-23, with India being the fifth-largest investor in Tanzania with about USD 3.7 billion in investments covering a range of sectors.

• Tanzanian side acknowledged that India is amongst its top five investment sources, whereby 630 investment projects worth USD 3.74 billion have been registered and thus creating 60,000 new jobs.

iii.It was specifically noted that Water Projects in 24 towns of Tanzania worth USD 500 Million through a Line of Credit scheme are presently being implemented.

iv.Both sides recognised that agriculture sector cooperation remains a strong pillar in the relations whereby 98% of product lines from Tanzania are imported tariff-free using India’s Duty Free Tariff Preference (DFTP) scheme.

• India remains a major destination for Tanzanian cashew nuts, pigeon peas, spices, avocado and other agricultural commodities.

Other Key Points:

i.India and Tanzania have bolstered bilateral engagement, notably on global and regional matters, including the Indo-Pacific and Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) ‘s Indo-Pacific Outlook.

• Both countries, linked by history and maritime proximity, hold significant roles in India’s Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR) vision. Tanzania’s participation in India’s annual Humanitarian Assistance Disaster Relief (HADR) exercises was also welcomed.

ii.The two sides also expressed satisfaction on Lines of Credits (LoCs) extended by India to Tanzania that amount to over USD 1.1 billion covering fields of drinking water infrastructure, agriculture and defence.

iii.India offers 450 Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) scholarships for capacity building and 70 Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) scholarships for long term programmes in 2023-24.

• The Indian side announced the decision to increase the number of Long term scholarships (ICCR) from 70-85 for the year 2023-24.

iv.The Indian side offered collaboration in areas of space technologies and digital public infrastructure (DPI) under India Stack including Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and Digital Unique Identity (Aadhar).

v.Tanzania commended the decision by India to set up 2 ICT Centres at Dar es Salaam Institute of Technology and at Nelson Mandela African Institute for Science & Technology (NMAIST) in Arusha. Tanzanian side also express its appreciation to India for upgrading the ICT centre in NM-AIST.

vi.First overseas campus of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Zanzibar, with classes for the first batch starting soon.

vii. 10 ambulances by the Government of India to Tanzania aimed at assisting in the provision of prompt medical care to patients and support to hospital infrastructure.

viii.Donation of radiation therapy machine, “Bhabhatron II“, essential medicines, an artificial limbs fitment camp organized in 2019 which benefited 520 Tanzanian patients among others.

xi.Signing of the Cultural Exchange Program for the 2023-27 periods.

• The Indian side extended an invitation to Tanzania to be a partner country in the upcoming Surajkund Mela to be held in February 2024 in Surajkund, Faridabad, National Capital Region of Delhi.

x.G20 Leaders welcomed the African Union (AU) as the permanent member of the G20.

Tanzania’s President Hassan Granted Honorary Doctorate by JNU, the First Woman to Receive This Honour

Samia Suluhu Hassan, the first female President of Tanzania, received an honorary doctorate from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). The recognition was for her contributions to strengthening India-Tanzania relations, promoting economic diplomacy, and regional integration.

The honorary doctorate, Honoris Causa, was presented by JNU’s Vice Chancellor, Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit.

i.President Hassan mentioned her educational experience in India, particularly at the National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj in Hyderabad, where she received training under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) program.

• ITEC is a capacity-building programme offered by the Ministry of External Affairs under which officials and civilians receive training in the defence sector.

ii.She also mentioned that JNU has a Centre for African Studies that began in 1969, which in 2009 became a specialized centre and the Nelson Mandela Chair, established by the Ministry of External Affairs.

About Tanzania
Capital – Dodoma
Currency – Tanzanian shilling
President – Samia Suluhu Hassan
Prime Minister – Kassim Majaliwa