India and Tanzania on October 9 elevated their bilateral relations to a strategic partnership with the meeting of Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. The two leaders pledged to strengthen collaboration across a spectrum of areas, including trade, investment, defense, and counter-terrorism.
Tanzania has emerged as one of the significant beneficiaries of India’s intensified engagement with Africa. India has notably established about 15 new diplomatic missions in the African country.
President Hassan’s visit follows the recent agreement to establish the first overseas campus of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Tanzania, and the African Union’s entry into the G20 as a full member during the summit hosted by India in September 2023.
India and Tanzania identified new initiatives to expand cooperation in trade and investment, including a proposed agreement on increasing trade in local currencies. The countries also agreed on a five-year roadmap for defence cooperation that encompasses new areas such as military training, maritime cooperation, capacity building and defence industry.
The two sides signed six agreements, including a technical agreement between the Indian Navy and Tanzania Shipping Agencies Corporation on sharing white shipping information, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on sharing digital public infrastructure, and an MoU between Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority and Tanzania Investment Centre for setting up of an industrial park in Tanzania.
