Trade volume between Tanzania and Türkiye has increased to 300 million US dollars (700bn/-), in the past ten years, thanks to continued efforts by the Embassies of the two counties in strengthening further the existing economic and diplomatic ties.
This was unveiled by the Ambassador of Türkiye to Tanzania Dr Mehmet Gulluoglu during an event to mark 99th anniversary of the proclamation of the Republic of Türkiye.
He said Tanzania is an important partner for Türkiye in East Africa and that they value strengthening the existing bilateral relations on a win-win basis.
“Our bilateral trade by no means has realised its true potential, and we believe that there is a considerable room for growth, not only in terms of the volume, but also in the variety of goods and services,” he said.
The diplomat explained further that Türkiye will continue to share its technical expertise as well as to strengthen its economic and cultural relations with Tanzania for the mutual benefit of both countries.
“We will continue our efforts to develop the relations between our country and Tanzania with different dimensions every year,” he noted, saying they are also proud for a Turkish company, Yapi Merkezi, which has been awarded a tender to construct various lots of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) Project.
“This is one of the biggest infrastructure projects of Tanzania, we look forward to attending the inauguration ceremony of phase 4, whose tender has been awarded to Yapı Merkezi,” he added.
For his part, the Minister for Constitution and Legal Affairs Damas Ndumbaro expressed the government’s appreciation of the continued support that Türkiye has been providing to Tanzania.
He said so far there are 48 Turkish companies in Tanzania that are working on various fields, such as manufacturing, agriculture, construction, human resources, tourism and transportation.
According to him, the Turkish company’s investment in Tanzania is worth around 324 million US dollars, creating about 3,455 jobs to locals hence improving the livelihood of small and middle income individuals.
“Tanzania has continued to receive Turkish investors that have shown interest in investing in the country; this is a reflection of the good job that is being done by embassies of both countries,” he said.
Dr Ndumbaro also acknowledged the role being played by Turkish Airline in supporting the tourism sector through its daily flights from Istanbul to Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar and Kilimanjaro.
“The flight brings Turkish tourists to Tanzania where they visit various tourism destinations,” said the minister.
Speaking on the education sector, the minister said currently there are over 400 Tanzanians who are studying in Türkiye in various fields, including health, engineering, agriculture and social science.
Dr Ndumbaro went on to assure of the government’s commitment and desire to continue cementing further the bond of friendship for enhanced development.
The cooperation between Tanzania and Türkiye is focusing on various areas of mutual interest, including business, investment, education, agriculture, industrial, telecommunication, transport, energy and military cooperation.
First published here