Relations Between India and Tanzania

India-Tanzania Relations

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a phone call with His Excellency Dr. John Pombe Joseph Magufuli, President of the United Republic of Tanzania. Both leaders reviewed the overall bilateral relationship and expressed satisfaction at the growing development partnership, educational linkages, trade and investment flows and discussed possibilities of further accelerating these trends.

About Tanzania

The Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by by Uganda, Lake Victoria and Kenya to the north, by the Indian Ocean to the east, by Mozambique, Lake Nyasa, Malawi and Zambia to the south and southwest and by Lake Tanganyika, Burundi and Rwanda to the west.

It was formed as a sovereign state in 1964 through the union of the separate states of Tanganyika and Zanzibar. Dodoma is the official capital and Dar es Salaam is the seat of most government administrations as well as is the largest city and port in the country.

Bilateral Treaties & Agreements:

Agreements are made between two parties to formalize an understanding of planned activities, responsibility, authority, and procedure to achieve shared goals. Bilateral treaties between India and Tanzania include Agreement on the establishment of a Joint Trade Committee (2000), Memorandum of Understanding for Co-operation in the Field of Agriculture And Allied Sectors (2002).

Commercial and Economic Relations:

India is the largest trading partner of Tanzania comprising 16% of Tanzania’s foreign trade. India is also among the top five investment sources in Tanzania. India’s major exports to Tanzania: Petroleum products, pharmaceuticals, and chemicals, motor vehicles, electrical goods, articles of iron and steel, sugar, machinery, etc.

Development Partnership:

The two-way training program between India and Tanzania is structured to cater to the bilateral engagement requirements for capacity building, human resource development, skill training and high technology sector development in Tanzania. Tanzania is a major beneficiary of training courses allocated under India’s Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation Programme/Special Commonwealth African Assistance Programme (ITEC/SCAAP) and under India Africa Forum Summit (IAFS) capacity building cooperation.

Cultural relationship:

Tanzania and India have enjoyed traditionally close, friendly and co-operative relations. From the 1960s to the 1980s, the political relationship involved shared commitments to anti-colonialism, non-alignment as well as desire for South-South Cooperation and close cooperation in international fora.