Moscow. President Samia Suluhu Hassan is expected to hold bilateral talks with her Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, at the Kremlin on Wednesday, June 3, 2026, as Tanzania and Russia seek to strengthen diplomatic and economic ties.
President Hassan arrived in Moscow late on Tuesday to begin a three-day state visit at the invitation of President Putin.
“The President is expected to hold official bilateral talks with the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin. The two leaders will then issue a joint press statement on Wednesday,” a statement issued by the Director of Presidential Communications, Mr Bakari Machumu, said.
While in Moscow, President Hassan will also receive an Honorary Doctorate Degree (Honoris Causa) from Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia (RUDN University).
As part of efforts to attract investment and advance the implementation of Tanzania’s Vision 2050, President Hassan will participate in a plenary session of the 29th St Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF 2026).
With the Minister of State in the President’s Office (Planning and Investment), Prof Kitila Mkumbo, and the Director General of the Tanzania Investment and Special Economic Zones Authority (Tiseza), Mr Gilead Teri, among senior government officials accompanying her, Tanzania is expected to use SPIEF 2026 to showcase its investment and trade opportunities to policymakers, investors, and business leaders from across the world.
Investment promotion will also feature prominently during the Tanzania-Russia Business Forum, which will bring together members of the business communities of both countries.
The visit comes at a time when trade between Tanzania and Russia remains relatively low despite steady growth in recent years.
Official figures show that Tanzania’s exports to Russia increased from $7.5 million in 2020 to $29.5 million in 2025, while total bilateral trade rose from $178.8 million to about $307.5 million over the same period.
Since 1997, Russian investors have undertaken 70 projects in Tanzania with a combined direct investment value of approximately $434.22 million, creating about 3,018 jobs.
Tanzania mainly exports black tea, tobacco, coconuts, cashewnuts, roses, hides and skins, wooden ornaments, lead ores and concentrates, and quartzite to Russia.
In return, it imports newsprint, ammonium nitrate, semi-finished iron products, fertilisers, hard wheat, aluminium alloys, mineral water, paper products, zinc alloys, sulphur, petroleum oils, and other industrial inputs.
Russia’s flagship investment in Tanzania is the $1.2 billion Mkuju River Uranium Project in the Ruvuma Region.
The project is being implemented by Mantra Tanzania Ltd, a subsidiary of Rosatom, Russia’s state-owned nuclear energy corporation that specialises in nuclear energy, high-technology products, and related industrial ventures.
