79th Anniversary of the Italian Republic: 2 June 1946 - 2 June 2025

Celebrating 64 years of diplomatic relations between Tanzania and Italy

On 2 June 1946, after 5 years of war and 22 years of Fascist regime, Italians held a referendum voting to either keep the Monarchy or estab­lish a Republic: we chose the Repub­lic, paving the way for a new era of freedom, democracy, civil, social and economic rights. This choice also anticipated the path that Italy would later take towards the European pro­ject, a crucial element of our identi­ty that has been granting Italy peace since the 1950’s.

A few weeks ago, President Sergio Mattarella underlined that “liberty, democracy, dedication to Italy, the dignity of all, employment, and jus­tice” … “are the values that inspire the life of our Country, the expectations of people and of our communities. They are expressed and configured through the citizens’ broad participa­tion in elections which makes democ­racy stronger; through the positive mediation of Institutions towards the achievement of the common good, the good of the Republic.” The Italian Republic that was born on 2 June 1946.

60th anniversary of the first bilateral agreement on economic and technical cooperation

Today we also celebrate our friend­ship with Tanzania. Italy recognised the independence of Tanganyika on 9 December 1961, immediately establishing diplomatic relations. On 8 December 1961 the Italian Prime Minister Amintore Fanfani wrote to President Julius Nyerere, announc­ing Italy’s intention to start diplo­matic relations and open an Embassy in Dar es Salaam. On 9 December 1961 the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Antonio Segni, wrote to President Nyerere to communicate that, pending the nomination of the Ambassador, the Italian government intended to appoint Mr. Luciano Fal­co as first Chargé d’Affaires in Dar es Salaam: he started his mission on 8 February 1962. On 10 December 1963 the Italian President, Antonio Segni, wrote to the Sultan of Zanzibar H.E. Seyyid Gamshid Bin Abdulla express­ing Italy’s best wishes “on the sol­emn day that the People of Zanzibar proclaimed their full independence”. In April 1964, we also immediately recognized the United Republic of Tanzania, after the unification of Zan­zibar and Tanganyika.

This year marks 64 years of bilat­eral diplomatic relations between Tanzania and Italy. We also celebrate the 60th anniversary of the first bilat­eral agreement on economic and technical cooperation, signed in Dar es Salaam on 4 August 1965. In the framework of our convinced support to the newly independent African States, this agreement was a concrete demonstration of Italy’s will to coop­erate with Tanzania and it provided the basis for many achievements in the following six decades of collabo­ration.

In this context, in the early 60’s the first factory for the processing of cashew-nuts, TANITA, was built with Italian capital and technology; in 1966 SNAMPROGETTI, original­ly belonging to the Italian oil com­pany ENI – AGIP, opened the first oil refinery in Dar es Salaam. TIPER (Tanganyikan and Italian Petroleum Refining Co) financed the construc­tion, by Snamprogetti and SAIPEM between 1966 and 1968, of the 1,700 km oil pipeline TAZAMA, connecting Dar es Salaam and Ndola, in Zambia. Since the early 60’s ENI built and managed a large number of petrol stations in Tanzania, supporting the modernization and development of the country.

ENI also built a hotel in the heart of Dar es Salaam, the AGIP Motel, still witnessing the strong and old bilater­al ties between Italy and Tanzania. A few years later, Dar es Salaam would have been enriched by another “Ital­ian” landmark: The Slipway, built by Nicola and Carolina Colangelo in the 1990’s, replicating the mood and life­style of the Italian “piazza”, the main square of every Italian town, where people of all ages enjoy company and life.

First Italian Consulate in Zanzi­bar in 1885 and first Italian Con­solata missionaries in Iringa in 1919

However, the relations between our two nations have even deeper roots: in 1885, 140 years ago, the first Italian Consulate was established in Zanzibar. In 1919 the first Catholic missionaries, the Consolata Fathers, arrived in Tanzania, specifically in Iringa, followed by the Consolata Sisters in 1923, promoting education and social services across the country.

Therefore, since the beginning Zanzibar has played a special role in the relations between Italy and Tan­zania. Italian tour operators have believed in the great potential for tourism of the archipelago since the early 90’s, investing in this sector and playing a key role in launching Zan­zibar as a globally renowned tourist destination. In Africa Zanzibar is one of the most popular tourist destina­tions for Italians, as witnessed by the fact that Italian tourists have been ranking among the leading national­ities among tourist arrivals since the early 90’s (and first also in 2004). Ital­ian investors and citizens have also supported many social initiatives in Zanzibar, especially in the sectors of infrastructure, health and education, sincerely committed to contributing to the socio-economic development of the archipelago.

For different reasons, Iringa holds a very special place in our bilateral relations, as it was here that the first Italian missionaries arrived in 1919, shortly after World War I. After hav­ing actively supported the local pop­ulation, in particular in the sectors of education and health, in Iringa and in other regions across the country, even in the most remote areas, the Ital­ian Consolata missionaries recently passed the baton to Tanzanian Sis­ters and Fathers. But a wonderful and admirable group of Italian Consolata Sisters still live in Iringa today. On 7 March 2025 we celebrated Sister Adolfina Dotta’s 94th birthday: she is the Dean of the Consolata Sisters and she arrived in Tanganyika in 1960 and ever since has dedicated almost 65 years of her life in supporting Tanza­nian people, in particular in the edu­cation sector. She still runs a culinary school and she has trained hundreds of Tanzanian girls over the decades, providing them with job opportuni­ties, dignity, self-confidence and most importantly empowerment. Suor Adolfina and her fellow Sisters met several times President Julius Nyer­ere, with whom they developed a deep friendship, based on truly shared val­ues of universal peace, human dignity, freedom and mutual respect.

1968: Italian Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) begin their crucial contribution towards our bilateral relations

The Italian Civil Society Organiza­tions (CSOs) also play a crucial role in our bilateral relations. “Medici con l’Africa CUAMM” was the first Ital­ian CSO that arrived in Tanzania, in 1968, followed by CEFA (Comitato Europeo per la Formazione e l’Ag­ricoltura) in 1978, CMSR (“Centro Mondialità Sviluppo Reciproco”) in 1984, LVIA (Associazione Interna­zionale Volontari Laici) in 1986 and COPE (Cooperazione Paesi Emer­genti) in 1988, implementing many projects especially in the health, education and agricultural sectors. Many other Italian CSOs started their activities in Tanzania in the following years and many of them are currently very active. Daily, each of them con­tribute to enriching and strengthen­ing our bilateral relations, thanks to the many commendable activities they carry out to support in particular the most vulnerable citizens.

Activities of the Italian Devel­opment Cooperation

Today the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) is continuing its efforts in many sec­tors, namely: health (with a focus on maternal and reproductive health), protection of vulnerable groups (including persons with disabilities), statistics development, nutrition, vocational education and training. As part of a regional initiative focused on improving the quality of maternal and child health services, the first “simu­lation room” was recently launched in May 2025 at the Kivunge Hospital in Unguja Island to support the train­ing of the health staff through digital instruments and innovative tools.

Friendly and dynamic peo­ple-to-people relations: some prominent examples in the health sector

Among the many inspiring exam­ples of fruitful and friendly collabo­ration between Tanzania and Italy, I would like to take this opportunity to highlight three particularly com­mendable initiatives in the health sector, that demonstrate the dyna­mism of our people-to-people rela­tions:

- since the late ‘90s a team from the Italian Region of Emilia-Romag­na, in particular the “Associazione Tison” and the “Istituto Oncologico Romagnolo” of Forlì have been sup­porting the Bugando Medical Centre in Mwanza, managed by the Tanzani­an Episcopal Conference, supporting and strengthening Tanzania’s capac­ities in the prevention and cure of cancer;

- in 2000 the Ivo de Carneri Foun­dation started operations in Pemba and subsequently funded the Ivo de Carneri Public Health Laboratory, now serving as a WHO collabora­tion centre specialized in the pre­vention and treatment of neglected tropical diseases. During the years, many academic and research studies have been carried out through PHL-IdC in collaboration with different national and international partners. The activities implemented by the Ivo de Carneri Foundation, have sig­nificantly contributed to the near eradication of schistosomiasis and to the reduction of the spread of other waterborne-related diseases (such as cholera) in Zanzibar;

- the first allogenic (i.e. from donor to patient) bone marrow transplant (BMT) unit in Tanzania was estab­lished in Dodoma in January 2023, thanks to the collaboration between health professionals from the asso­ciation HELP3 (from San Raffaele Hospital in Milan and San Gerardo Hospital in Monza) and Benjamin Mkapa Hospital (BMH); Tanzania is the second country in Sub-saharan Africa, after South Africa, to have such a unit.

Most significant achievements in the last year

The celebration of the Italian National Day is also an opportunity to take stock of what we have achieved together since our last National Day in 2024. Let me briefly mention some of the most significant developments.

In June 2024, the first National Situation Room of the AMHEWAS (Africa Multi Hazard Early Warning and Early Action System) network was inaugurated in Dodoma, in coor­dination with UNDRR (UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction), with the financial, technical and scientific support from the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) and CIMA Research Foundation of San Remo. The new Emergen­cy Operation and Communication Center (EOCC) Situation Room aims at providing coordinated and collaborative access to Early Warn­ing Systems across the entire African continent and it serves as the con­nection point between regional and continental information and nation­al-level information.

Also, in July 2024, Tanzania was included in the group of priority countries for the Italian Develop­ment Cooperation. In January 2025 President Giorgia Meloni communi­cated to H.E. President Samia Suluhu Hassan that Tanzania was included among the priority countries of the Mattei Plan. The “Piano Mattei” aims at strengthening the partnership between Italy and the African nations on a peer-to-peer approach, through the identification of areas of inter­vention and priorities focused on six main sectors: energy, water, educa­tion/vocational training, health, agri­culture and infrastructures, includ­ing digital infrastructures. Through the Mattei Plan, Italy is promoting, also within the European Union and the G7, a more dynamic and new approach towards Africa, based on equal partnerships and mutual respect.

In September 2024 the Hon. Speaker Tulia Ackson took part in Verona in the 22nd Meeting of the Speakers of the Lower Houses of the G7 countries, also as President of the Inter-Parlamentary Union. Her par­ticipation was in line with the Ital­ian G7 Presidency’s commitment to strengthen the voice of Africa in all multilateral fora.

On 7 January 2025 H.E. President Samia Suluhu Hassan and H.E. Presi­dent Hussein Ali Mwinyi inaugurated Bawe Island Resort, the latest exam­ple of Italian top-quality investments in the tourist sector in Zanzibar, blending the beauty and nature of Zanzibar with the best Italian design and environmental practices and – most of all - providing job opportu­nities for hundreds of young Tanza­nians.

In January 2025, the Italian Depu­ty Minister for the Environment and Energy Security, Claudio Barbaro, visited Dar es Salaam in order to par­ticipate in the Mission 300 - Africa Energy Summit, reaffirming Italy’s support to the African and Tanzanian objectives to ensure access to energy.

On 26 March 2025, the Tanzanian Minister of Defence, H.E. Stergome­na Tax, and her Italian counterpart, Minister Guido Crosetto, signed in Rome the first bilateral Memoran­dum of Understanding in the field of defence.

In the same month, in Rome the Minister of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation, H.E. Mahmoud Thabit Kombo, took part in the min­isterial meeting on the EU Global Gateway and Mattei Plan, paving the way for joint initiatives. Also the Minister of Finance, H.E. Mwigulu Nchemba, held fruitful meetings in Rome, deepening our bilateral coop­eration in the financial and economic sectors.

Trade and investments: an increasingly dynamic Italian pri­vate sector in Tanzania

The Italian Trade Agency (Agen­zia ICE) has also carried out many activities, such as supporting Tanza­nian small and medium enterprises to modernize the agricultural sector and gain access to the Italian market and organized numerous and fruit­ful missions of Tanzanian compa­nies to Italy. The value of the trade balance between Tanzania and Italy has steadily increased in the last few years, also thanks to a stronger pres­ence of Agenzia ICE in Dar es Salaam.

In February 2025, the 4th bilat­eral Tanzania-Italy Business and Investment Forum took place in Dar es Salaam, fostering further our economic, investment and trade relations. With over 500 B2B meet­ings between Italian and Tanzanian companies, the Business Forum reaf­firmed Italy’s will to continue sup­porting Tanzania’s efforts to promote a private-sector centred socio-eco­nomic growth, in the framework of Vision 2050, with a focus on many sectors which have a huge potential for our bilateral cooperation, such as agro-tech and blue economy, sustain­able infrastructures, waste-to-energy, renewable energy, water treatment, transport, pharmaceutical, digitaliza­tion and mining.

In the same occasion the Muhim­bili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS) and “La Sapi­enza” University of Rome signed a Memorandum of Understanding, aimed at promoting joint research in priority areas, as well as enhanc­ing training, consultancy, academic exchange and capacity building ini­tiatives.

I also recall in 2024 the launch of the 15 million euro - multiyear clean cooking programme in the regions of Dodoma, Morogoro and Tanga, financed by the Italian energy com­pany ENI and implemented by the Italian company OffgridSun.

Italian companies invest very sig­nificant resources in Tanzania, pro­viding job opportunities, especially for young people and women, trans­ferring technology and contributing to the socio-economic development of the country, in addition to being important taxpayers. In January 2025, TAUR enterprise, an Italo-Tan­zanian mining company, was award­ed in the Taxpayers Appreciation Awards 2023/2024 as “the most com­pliant and largest tax payer in the Central Zone”. CETAWICO (Central Tanzania Wine Company), that pro­duces, with no doubt, the best wine in Tanzania - also thanks to the unique know-how from the Valpolicella region in the northeast of Italy - was awarded as the third best tax contrib­utors among the middle taxpayers in Dodoma region, in recognition of the company’s outstanding tax compli­ance in FY 2023/2024.

Cultural exchanges

We have deepened our bilateral relations also in the cultural field. Italian archeological missions have continued to work with their Tan­zanian counterparts, contributing to the study and promotion of the Tanzanian cultural heritage. The Ital­ian Government also funded several scholarships in favour of Tanzanian students in Italian universities. The Dante Alighieri Committee in Dar es Salaam has contributed in promoting the Italian language and culture in Tanzania, through events and lan­guage courses.

Looking ahead: building and strengthening closer ties between Tanzania and Italy

Against the backdrop of shifting global dynamics and tensions, and even violations of peace in many regions of the world, we are firmly convinced that our future lies in close and joint efforts to the mutual benefit of the people of Tanzania and Italy, including through enhanced cooper­ation on peace, security and govern­ance and a stronger commitment to multilateralism.

On our National Day we reaffirm our commitment to strengthen and enrich the unique, strategic and mutual partnership between Tanza­nia and Italy, covering a large range of areas and based on shared values, mutual respect and the prosperity and security of our citizens.

H.E. Giuseppe Sean Coppola, Ambassador of Italy to Tanzania