Tanzania and Ethiopia sign key agreements

Dar es Salaam. Tanzania and Ethiopia yesterday signed two agreements and one Memorandum of Understanding in what President John Magufuli described as a major step in cementing bilateral relations.

At the State House in Dar es Salaam, President Magufuli and his guest, Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn witnessed the signing ceremony of agreements in sectors that cover a wide spectrum of the economy.

The Ethiopian Premier arrived in the country yesterday morning for a two-day state visit.

The two nations agreed to construct a modern cargo depot at the Julius Nyerere International Airport (JNIA) in Dar es Salaam in a bid to stimulate trade between them. “Being a land locked country, the Ethiopian leader has agreed to start using our port to receive some of their cargo, which will then be stored at the airport depot and airlifted to Ethiopia via the Ethiopian airline,” revealed Dr Magufuli.

In a similar vein, Mr Desalegn is scheduled to visit Dar es Salaam Port this morning to witness its operations.

Speaking at a joint press briefing at the State House, President Magufuli hailed the bilateral agreements reached yesterday saying they would foster growth for both countries.

The first agreement on partnership covers a number of areas including fighting illegal migrants, business cooperation, investment and health sector.

The second was on the establishment of joint ministerial commission.

In the two agreements, Tanzania was represented by the deputy minister of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation, Dr Susan Kolimba, while the Ethiopian side was represented by its Foreign Affairs minister, Dr Workneth Gabeyenu.

A Memorandum of Understanding was also signed between the two countries in the field of tourism. It was inked by the Tanzania minister of Natural Resources and Tourism, Prof Jumanne Maghembe, and his Ethiopian counterpart, Dr Hirut Teketel.

“These agreements will be of major benefit to both countries,” President Magufuli said. He said Tanzania has a lot to learn from Ethiopia in the management of airlines.

“Ethiopia has a more advanced and stable airline with more than 92 planes, flying to more than 92 international destinations, and 20 local airports,” he noted.

In Tanzania, the Ethiopian Airline lands in Dar es Salaam, Kilimanjaro and Zanzibar.

According to Dr Magufuli, experts from the Ethiopian airline will also offer training and maintenance to Air Tanzania Company Limited (ATCL) .

“He has agreed to open a new embassy in Dodoma to help ease diplomatic activities. I will give them a plot for free,” said President Magufuli.

He said another new area of cooperation will be in the industrial sector, especially in leather and meat industry. “Again, we have spoken about the use of the River Nile waters and agreed that the resource should benefit all member countries equally.” “From the river, our Ethiopian colleagues have constructed a hydroelectricity power dam that produces 1,870 Megawatts; again they are in a process to build another even bigger dam to produce 6,400MW,” noted the Head of State.

Dr Magufuli said Ethiopia has promised to offer Tanzania some 400MW at a price between 6 and 7 US cents per unit.

According to him, this will challenge Tanesco (Tanzania Electric Supply Company), to adopt the strategies used by their counterparts in Ethiopia for better service delivery.

“It’s crucial for us to have enough power supply so as to meet our target of building an industrial economy. They will also send experts to help us in the construction of our dams just like theirs. We will take them to all possible dam sites, including Stiglers Gauge,” he explained.

Another issue was removal of barriers in acquiring entry visas. This, he said, made the trade volume between two countries to remain at $2.6 million (Sh5.5 billion), creating about 360 employment opportunities.

Mr Desalegn pledged continued cooperation from his country saying relations should uplift people out of poverty. He was optimistic that the new bilateral relations would build a pillar for economic development for east and central Africa.

“I believe that Tanzania and Ethiopia are not competitors, but nations that complement each other, we have to join our efforts to exploit development opportunities for our people,” he said.

Chief Secretary John Kijazi, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr Charles Mwijage, Natural Resources and Tourism minister, Prof Jumanne Maghembe, and the Minister of Home Affairs, Mr Mwigulu Nchemba attended the ceremony.