Prime Minister Modi describes the day as historic in the India-Tanzania relationship
India and Tanzania have decided to strengthen their bilateral relationship by elevating their ties to a Strategic Partnership. Following talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and visiting Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan in New Delhi Monday (October 9, 2023), the two sides also agreed on a five-year roadmap to significantly expand defence cooperation.
 
In his statement to the media, Prime Minister Modi described the day as a historic one in the relationship between India and Tanzania. “Today, we are cementing our centuries-old friendship by making it a Strategic Partnership,” he said.
 
Talking about the five-year road map on defence, Prime Minister Modi said this would include new initiatives in military training, maritime cooperation, capacity building, and the defence industry.
 
The two leaders discussed several global and regional issues. As countries of the Indian Ocean region, they decided to increase coordination to combat challenges like maritime security, piracy, and drug trafficking, Prime Minister Modi said. “We look at Tanzania as a valuable partner in the Indo-Pacific region,” he added.
 
During the talks, India and Tanzania agreed that terrorism posed one of the most serious security threats to humanity. “We have agreed to increase cooperation in the area of counter-terrorism,” the Indian Prime Minister said.
 
AGREEMENTS SIGNED, KEY INITIATIVES DISCUSSED
 
During the talks, India and Tanzania took up several agreements and discussed key initiatives in line with the decision on a Strategic Partnership, Prime Minister Modi said.
 
Describing India and Tanzania as partners when it came to bilateral trade and investment, Prime Minister Modi said the two sides were working on an agreement to promote trade in local currencies.
 
At the same time, India and Tanzania have signed an agreement on sharing of Digital Public Goods, Prime Minister Modi said, adding that this would strengthen cooperation between the two sides. He also expressed happiness that Tanzania was taking steps to replicate the success story of the United Payments Interface (UPI). Technology plays a big role in the development journey of both the countries, he said.
 
According to Prime Minister Modi, both the countries will continue looking for new opportunities to realise the full potential of economic cooperation between the two sides.
 
He referred to the close cooperation between India and Tanzania in the field of energy and said that the two sides had agreed to work together in this important sector in the view of the rapidly-changing clean energy landscape in India.
 
He expressed happiness that Tanzania had joined the Global Biofuels Alliance announced by India during the G20 Summit. At the same time, India’s decision to join the Tanzania-led International Big Cat Alliance would strengthen global efforts for the protection of big cats, Prime Minister Modi said.
 
STRONG DEVELOPMENT PARTNERSHIP

Pointing out that Tanzania is India's largest development partner in Africa, Prime Minister Modi said that India was providing support to it in fields like skill development, capacity building, vocational training, agriculture, health, water supply and other sectors.
 
He also spoke about India’s assistance in the form of defence training, Indian Technical and Economic Collaboration (ITEC), and Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) scholarships. “We will continue working with the same commitment in future,” he remarked.
 
According to Prime Minister Modi, the decision by IIT Madras to open a campus in Zanzibar was an important milestone in India-Tanzania relations. “This will become a hub of high-quality education not just for Tanzanians but also for students from other countries in the region,” he pointed out.
 
According to Prime Minister Modi, strong people-to-people ties were an integral part of the bilateral relationship. He referred to trade between Gujarat’s Mandwa port and Zanzibar as long as two thousand years ago and east Africa’s Zanz coast being the place of origin of Gujarat’s Sidhi tribes as two examples in this regard.
 
Earlier in the day, President Samia Suluhu Hassan was accorded a ceremonial welcome at the Rashtrapati Bhavan forecourt. The Tanzanian President, who is in India at the invitation of President Droupadi Murmu was received by the Union Minister of State for Education Annapurna Devi at the Delhi airport on Sunday.