WEB DESK
The second round of Foreign Office Consultations between India and Tanzania was held today in New Delhi. Consultations reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral relations including political, economic, trade and investment, defence, cultural, people to people, and other areas of mutual interest. Multilateral and regional issues including co-operation in United Nations, East Africa Community (EAC), South African Development Cooperation (SADC) and African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) were also discussed.
The discussions were led on the Indian side by Joint Secretary (E&SA) in the Ministry of External Affairs Puneet Kundal and on the Tanzanian side by Director (Asia & Australasia), Ministry of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation Amb. Caesar C. Waitara.
Both sides expressed satisfaction over the growth in bilateral trade, which touched 4.5 billion US dollars for 2021-22.
India is one of Tanzania’s biggest trading partners and among the top investors in Tanzania. Both sides agreed to further strengthen bilateral cooperation in various sectors and explore possibilities of investment in health, education, port development and agriculture sector.
Tanzania is also a major development partner of India and India has extended 6 lines of Credit worth over 1.1 billion US dollars to Tanzania, especially in the sector of city water supply and management. Indian side reiterated its commitment to continue the development partnership with Tanzania through loans, grants and other mechanisms.
Both sides also agreed to continue high level political exchanges and regular meetings of the Joint institutional mechanisms to keep the partnership vibrant and mutually beneficial.
The Consultations were held in a friendly and cordial atmosphere. Both sides agreed to hold the next round of Consultations at a mutually convenient date in Dar es Salaam.