Tanzanian Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa has shortly arrived at the Cairo International Airport in a visit to Egypt.
During the visit, Majaliwa is set to hold a meeting with his Egyptian counterpart Moustafa Madbouly to discuss means of enhancing economic and trade cooperation between the two countries.
The meeting is expected to tackle common files, especially with regard to Egypt's construction of a dam in Tanzania.
The duo is also set to discuss fostering agricultural, food processing, livestock, energy and medicine.
Egypt and Tanzania trade exchange witnessed a remarkable development, registering $ 47.19 million in 2018 compared to $ 25.41 million in 2017. The trade balance between the two countries recorded $37.28 million.
It is noteworthy that Madbouly and Tanzanian President John Magufuli, in December 2018, attended the signing ceremony of an agreement on setting up a dam on the Basin of Rufiji River in Tanzania.
Stiegler's Gorge dam will be constructed by the Egyptian Arab Contractors Company at a total cost of $2.9 billion.
The project includes setting up a major concrete dam for storing water required to generate power along with four other dams bringing the total quantities of stored water to 33 billion cubic meters.
Egypt-Tanzania relations
Egypt and Tanzania established diplomatic relations in 1964 when Salem Ahmed Salem (the former secretary-general of the defunct Organization of African Unity) became first ambassador of Tanzania to Egypt after the unity of Tanganyika and Zanzibar.
Since then, the two countries have enjoyed one of the most distinguished relations in Africa. In June 2014, former Tanzanian Foreign Minister Bernard Bembe participated in the inauguration ceremony of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi in Egypt, reiterating Tanzania’s support for Egypt to restore its activities in the African Union.
On August 14, 2017, Sisi paid a visit to Tanzania, the first for an Egyptian President since 1968. During that visit, he met with President Magufuli and discussed means of confronting common challenges. They also discussed efforts to achieve development in the Nile Basin countries, given that Tanzania is one of the important riparian nations.
In January 2017, at the sidelines of the activities of the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Sisi met with President Magufuli and discussed means of bolstering bilateral relations between the two countries in different political, economic, trade and military fields.
In January 2018, Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry presided over the proceedings of the third Egyptian-Tanzanian joint ministerial committee. The two sides discussed bilateral relations and regional issues of mutual interest. At the end of meetings, Egypt and Tanzania signed three memos of understanding in the fields of diplomatic training, tourism and agriculture.
Economic relations
In a crystal-clear evidence of the distinguished relations between Egypt and Tanzania at the present time, two Egyptian companies (El-Sewedy Electric and the Arab Contractors) were awarded a giant dam project in Tanzania: Stiegler’s Gorge. The USD 3 billion huge hydroelectric plant would produce 2115 megawatts, simply more than double of the country’s power generation capacity.
In 2015, Egypt and Tanzania finalized talks on removing tariffs to bolster their inter-trade within the agreement of establishing free trade zone between the member countries of the three economic blocs in Africa: the COMESA, the SADC and Eastern African Community.
In 2002, Egypt and Tanzania signed an agreement to establish Egyptian-Tanzanian Business Council between the Egyptian Businessmen Association and the Tanzanian Chamber of Trade and Industry.
Egypt seeks to establish a maritime line linking Egypt through Safagah Port on the Red Sea to the eastern African countries, including Tanzania, to enhance commercial and economic ties between the two nations.
Egyptian engineering firms have implemented mega infrastructure projects in Tanzania, including Kigamboni Bridge which connects the two banks of the city of Dar Es-Salam, and the expansion project of Julius Nyerere Airport.
Healthcare cooperation
In August 2016, a delegation of seven doctors drawn from Alexandria University in Egypt visited Tanzania and Zanzibar within the framework of the agreement between the Egyptian University and the Tanzanian University of Muhimbili to promote healthcare cooperation between the two sides. The Egyptian medical team performed operations for hundreds of Tanzanian children at that time. This was the third visit by a medical team from Alexandria University to Tanzania, as similar teams visited the nation in 2014 and 2015.
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