At the invitation of Smt. Droupadi Murmu, President of the Republic of India, Her Excellency Samia Suluhu Hassan, President of the United Republic of Tanzania undertook a State Visit to the Republic of India from 8-10 October 2023. H.E. President Samia Suluhu Hassan was accompanied by a high-level delegation including the Minister for Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation Hon. January Makamba (MP), and other members from different sectors, Senior Government Officials as well as members of the Tanzania Business Community.
H.E. President Samia Suluhu Hassan was accorded a ceremonial welcome on 9 October 2023, at the forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi. She also visited Rajghat to pay her respect to Mahatma Gandhi. H.E. President of India Smt. Droupadi Murmu will hold bilateral talks and also host a State Banquet in honour of H.E. President Samia Suluhu Hassan.
President Samia Suluhu Hassan and Prime Minister Narendra Modi held official bilateral talks in a warm and cordial atmosphere and exchanged views on bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest. The two leaders commended the existing close, cordial and cooperative relations and noted that India and Tanzania are time-tested partners bound by a long history of shared values and ideals spanning many years. They both acknowledged that the bilateral relations were further deepened by the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Tanzania in July 2016, giving a significant boost to development cooperation.
The leaders recalled the recent visits of External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar to Co-chair the 10th Joint Commission on Economic, Technical and Scientific Cooperation and the Parliamentary delegation led by Speaker of Lok Sabha Shri. Om Birla to Tanzania. In addition, similar visits by several Tanzanian Ministers were held this year. The two leaders agreed that such high-level visits have reinforced the strong relations existing between Tanzania and India.
H.E. President Samia Suluhu Hassan will also attend the India-Tanzania Business and Investment Forum on October 10, 2023, where she will deliver the keynote address to the Indian and Tanzanian business communities. She will also hold one-on-one meetings (B2B) with key Indian Business Leaders.
With a view to further strengthen the bilateral relations and expanding cooperation across various sectors, the two leaders announced the elevation of Indo-Tanzania relationship to the level of ‘Strategic Partnership’. Both sides noted that the strategic partnership will help the two countries to jointly work on issues like Maritime Security, Defence Cooperation, Development Partnership, Trade and Investment among others.
Defence Cooperation
The two leaders expressed satisfaction over the successful 2nd Joint Defence Cooperation Committee meeting held in Arusha on 28th and 29th June 2023 resulting in a five-year Roadmap for Defence Cooperation between the two countries.
Both sides recalled the successful visits of Defence Ministers of Tanzania to India in August 2022 and February 2023, during which both sides agreed to expand scope of defence cooperation. The Tanzanian side appreciated the deployment of the Indian Military Training Team (IMTT) at the Command and Staff College in Duluti.
Maritime security
Acknowledging that India and Tanzania are maritime neighbours who face common maritime security challenges, the two sides agreed to enhance cooperation in maritime security in the Indian Ocean region. They expressed satisfaction over the first ever India-Tanzania Joint Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) surveillance exercise conducted in July 2023 when the Indian Naval Ship Trishul visited Zanzibar and Dar es Salaam. They also noted that India and Tanzania held bilateral maritime exercise in October 2022 during the visit of the Indian Naval Ship Tarkash.
The Tanzanian side appreciated the hydrographic surveys of Tanzanian major ports done by India in recent years. Thus, the two sides agreed to continue cooperation in this area.
The two leaders commended the signing of the Technical Agreement on sharing White Shipping Information between India and Tanzania.
Blue Economy
The Tanzanian side expressed interest to cooperate with the Government of India in the field of Blue economy including tourism, maritime trade, services and infrastructure, marine scientific research, capacity in seabed mining, ocean conservation and maritime safety and security. India and Tanzania agreed to cooperate under the framework of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) to ensure a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable Indian Ocean Region.
Trade and Investment
The two sides expressed commitment to increase bilateral trade volumes and towards this end, directed the respective Officials to explore new areas of trade. It was further agreed that both sides should harmonise trade volume data and take initiatives to further enhance bilateral trade volumes by organizing visits of business delegations, business exhibitions and interaction with business communities.
The Tanzanian side acknowledged that India is amongst the top five investment sources for Tanzania whereby 630 investment projects worth USD 3.74 billion have been registered and thus creating 60,000 new jobs. Both sides welcomed recent trends of renewed interest among Indian businesspersons for investment in Tanzania. Both sides agreed to explore the possibility of setting up of an Investment Park in Tanzania, Tanzanian side assured full support in this regard.
The two leaders expressed desire to expand bilateral trade using Local currencies. They noted that Reserve Bank of India (Indian Central Bank) has cleared the way for trade using local currencies i.e. Indian Rupee (INR) & Tanzanian Shilling by allowing the authorized banks in India to open Special Rupee Vostro Accounts (SRVA) of correspondent banks of Tanzania and that transactions using this mechanism have already materialised. The two sides agreed to continue with the consultations in order to address any concerns so as to ensure sustainability of this arrangement.
Development Partnership
Tanzania appreciated India’s development partnership assistance in the areas of Water, Health, Education, Capacity Building, Scholarships and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) among others.
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. 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. Once completed, it would provide easy access to safe drinking water to about 6 million residents of these regions.
The Tanzanian side appreciated that the Indian scholarship and capacity building program has tremendously contributed to its Human Resource development. 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 to 85 for the year 2023-24. As part of its commitment to the Global South, India also announced 1000 additional ITEC slots for Tanzania to be used over a 5-year period in new and emergent fields like Smart Ports, Space, Biotechnology, Artificial Intelligence, Aviation Management, etc.
Indian Institute of Technology Madras Campus in Zanzibar
Both leaders affirmed the significance of establishing the first overseas campus of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras in Zanzibar. They also agreed that IIT in Zanzibar has the potential to become the premier centre for technical education in the African continent. They noted that classes for the first batch are scheduled to begin this month. Tanzanian side appreciated India’s commitment in this regard and assured of its full support to the growth and sustainability of IIT in Zanzibar.
Space Cooperation
Tanzanian side congratulated the Indian side on the successful landing of Chandrayaan-3 lander on the surface of the moon on 23 August, 2023.
Health
Both sides reaffirmed the excellent cooperation in the health sector, noting the recent visit of Hon. Ummy Mwalimu (MP), Minister for Health of Tanzania to India in July 2023 and the visit of a joint delegation from India and UAE that visited Tanzania in August 2022 to scout for opportunities. Both sides agreed to work for further collaboration in the health sector.
Tanzanian side appreciated the donation of 10 ambulances by the Government of India aimed at assisting in the provision of prompt medical care to patients and support to hospital infrastructure.
Both sides also highlighted the excellent track record of bilateral cooperation in the implementation of grant projects including donation of radiation therapy machine, “Bhabhatron II”, essential medicines, an artificial limbs fitment camp organized in 2019 which benefited 520 Tanzanian patients among others.
People to People Relations and Cultural Exchanges
Both leaders underscored the importance of strong people-to-people contacts, cultural exchanges, academic linkages and tourism between the two countries. They appreciated the contribution of the large Indian diaspora in Tanzania who have acted as a bridge between the two nations and made significant contribution to the Tanzanian economy and society.
Both sides agreed to heighten cooperation in cultural exchanges and appreciated the 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.
The two sides noted the ongoing exchange of cultural troupes of both sides and encouraged further cultural exchanges between the two countries.
The two leaders strongly condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, whenever, wherever, and by whom-so-ever committed and the use of terrorist proxies for cross-border terrorism. They agreed that terrorism is one of the most serious threats to global peace, security and stability and must seriously be addressed.
H.E. President Samia Suluhu Hassan expressed her appreciation to H.E. Shri Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of the Republic of India for the warm reception and hospitality extended to her and her accompanying delegation. H.E. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi thanked H.E. President Samia Suluhu Hassan for visiting India and wished her good health and prosperity for the friendly people of the United Republic of Tanzania.