Dar es Salaam (Tanzania): External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday said India’s bilateral trade last year with Tanzania was at USD 6.4 billion, adding that “India remains the biggest destination for Tanzanian exports.”
The External Affairs Minister, who is in Tanzania on a four-day visit, made the remarks while addressing the India-Tanzania Business Conclave.
Jaishankar wished all the dignitaries a happy Saba Saba Day, the day which celebrates the 1954 founding of the Tanzanian political party, TANU.
He began his address by saying that Tanzania and India enjoy traditionally close and friendly relations. “We have a very sound political understanding between us. We've seen regular high-level visits, including that of Prime Minister Modi a few years ago and we have, of course, very broad, very deep people-to-people contacts regarding economic ties,” said Jaishankar.
He stated that India is Tanzania’s best trading partner and that the two countries are committed to taking this forward.
Despite the global disruption and the Covid-19 challenges, India-Tanzania bilateral trade has actually seen very strong growth, said Jaishankar, adding, “The Indian figures actually put our bilateral trade last year at USD 6.4 billion, i.e. is in 2020, 2022 and 2023.”
“This is not only a very substantial bilateral trade, but it's also actually a bilateral trade which is getting increasingly balanced. And what is most important is that India remains the biggest destination for Tanzanian exports,” the External Affairs Minister said.
Further, in his address to the conclave, he noted that strong growth in both countries opens up more possibilities.
“When it comes to the Indian business interest in Tanzania, obviously the way to promote that is through frequent exchanges of delegations of individual business of companies. And I was very happy to learn that in 2022, eight big exhibitions in different sectors took place here,” he said.
He said there were more than 700 Indian businessmen who came to Tanzania and helped promote bilateral trade and investment, adding that Indian investments in Tanzania were growing in a wide range of domains.
“As regards investment, we have seen investments in hospitals, in pharma, in animal vaccines, in education, in mining and agro-processing. And I do want to say we are committed to taking it forward and perhaps a time will come when we will see an Indian industrial park in Tanzania,” said Jaishankar.
He said India, “the fifth largest economy in the world,” was also investing in building African capabilities and the IIT Madras campus in Zanzibar testified to its intent in this regard.
“We should not forget the importance of human resources and capacities. And the significance of what we are doing by establishing an Indian Institute of Technology campus in Zanzibar is exactly that that we are today," the EAM said.
He concluded his address by expressing confidence that the India-Tanzania business conclave would create an even stronger business bond between the two countries.
Earlier, in Tanzania, the EAM took a walk through Dar es Salaam’s famous Temple Street and experienced the local flavours there. “This ‘Little India’ in the Tanzanian capital symbolizes both our historical ties and its modern-day connect,” he said.
Jaishankar also visited the India-Tanzania Centre of Excellence in ICT at Dar es Salaam Institute of Technology while paying homage to Indian soldiers at the Commonwealth War Memorial in Dar es Salaam on Friday. (ANI)
