The relationship was driven largely by shared ideological commitments to anti-colonialism, anti-racism and socialism in various forms as well as desire for South-South cooperation.
As we welcome Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who starts his official visit tomorrow, we should be prepared to learn from members of his delegation on how the country has made leap steps from abject poverty to a well-off state.
Today India is a world leader in the IT sector, while the lives of many Tanzanians, especially those suffering from heart diseases, have been saved by Indian doctors.
Tanzania has also been participating and benefitting from the India–Africa Forum Summit (IAFS), the official platform for African-Indian relations.
IAFS is held once every three years. The first summit was held from April 4 to 8, 2008 in New Delhi. It was the first such meeting between the heads of state and government of India and 14 African countries chosen by the African Union.
These fora are used to exchange ideas on how India could help the African continent extricate itself from its economic quagmire.
Indeed, the current visit by the Indian Prime Minister will deepen cooperation in areas of trade and investment, agriculture and food.
It is an open secret that India is a leading trade partner of Tanzania with major Indian companies and brands operating in the country, including the Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, Tata International, Reliance Industries, Kamal Group of Industries, Bharti Airtel, Escorts, Ashok Leyland, Eicher, Bajaj, TVS, Kirloskar and Godrej, just to mention a few.
Statistics indicate that about 36 per cent of medicines and pharma products imported by Tanzania are sourced from India while all major Indian pharma companies have their distributors and representatives in the country.
India has been one of Tanzania’s largest trade partners. According to the Department of Commerce data, total bilateral trade with Tanzania was US$3573.63 million during 2014-15, of which exports to Tanzania constituted US$2,484.60 million and imports from Tanzania was US$1,089.03 million.
Significantly, Tanzanian exports to India, which were stagnating at around $187 million annually in 2009, have jumped to over $ 1,293 million in 2014, according to data by the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA).
The data indicate that Tanzania’s major imports from India include petroleum products, medicines and pharmaceutical items, motor vehicles, wires and cables, sugar, electrical machinery/equipment, yarn, apparel and clothing, articles of iron and steel, plastic products including synthetic polymers, inorganic/organic/agro-chemicals, rubber
items including tyres and cotton fabrics. The list is almost endless.
At the same time, Tanzania’s major exports to India include gold,
cashew nuts, pulses, timber, spices (mainly cloves), ores and metals, gemstones, tanning/dyeing and colouring materials, non-
ferrous metals, essential oils, leather and silver.
Tanzania should however not be satisfied with these figures. The east African nation, the second largest economy in the region, should do all it can to exploit this visit to expand these business figures.
This country of 45 million-plus people also stands to learn a lot from their Indian counterparts.
As we aspire to make Tanzania a middle-income country by 2025 this could be achieved by learning from various countries, including India. And the time to learn is now.
With open hands we say Karibu Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Feel at home in this land of The Kilimanjaro.
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