India, Tanzania to explore new areas of cooperation

Dar es Salaam, July 9

India and Tanzania have agreed on a roadmap to further boost their time-tested ties by identifying new areas of cooperation in sectors like trade, investment, agriculture, defence and education, the foreign ministers of the two countries said.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met Tanzania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation Stergomena Tax at the 10th India-Tanzania Joint Commission Meeting here. “This gave us an opportunity to do a stocktaking of our relationship to discuss what are the new areas that we need to move forward. Also, to agree on how to deepen our cooperation in the areas that we have been working on for many years,” he said.

Among the domains that the two sides looked at was their economic cooperation, and how to increase trade and investment. The two sides also discussed how to promote stronger collaboration in ICT (Information and Communications Technology) and technology.

“We spoke about expanding training and exchanges within us. And we looked at areas like health, agriculture, defence and education as new domains to go between India and Tanzania,” he told reporters.

Jaishankar said India is proud of the water partnership between the two nations. “Water Partnership which involves soft loans of almost a billion dollars, which when the projects are completed, will bring safe drinking water to 8 million Tanzanians. I think it will cover 28 towns in this country,” he said.

Tax said the two sides noted with satisfaction the milestones in various areas including politics, trade and investment, energy, education, water, health, ICT and defence and agreed to reinforce cooperation in these areas. PTI

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