Tanzania’s New Diplomatic Drive Resetting Regional Ties
Tanzania is, certainly, an under-rated power. Its strategists, however, view East Africa’s largest country as the spider weaving diplomatic relations at the centre of the web. With the coming of President Samia Suluhu Hassan to power, Tanzania is on a diplomatic charm offensive aimed at remaking East, Central and Southern Africa.
This comes after years of frosty Kenya-Tanzania relations. Even Tanzania’s most virulent populists, from Julius Nyerere to John Magufuli, have considered East Africa’s economic powerhouse as a strategic neighbour.
Under President Jakaya Kikwete (2005-2015), Kenya was not a competitor but a strategic partner. Trade between the two countries increased by 40 per cent, and Kenya became Tanzania’s largest trading partner with an investment of $1.65 billion. According to Tanzania Investment Centre, by 2015, some 529 Kenyan firms had invested an estimated $1.7 billion in Tanzania, creating employment for about 56,000 Tanzanians.
At the end of 2019, Kenya’s exports to Tanzania stood at US$329.56 million while imports from Tanzania totalled US$269.78 million, according to the United Nations database on international trade.
Tanzania set its diplomatic relations with Kenya during the ‘era of the beautiful bride’. It established a High Commission in Nairobi and later a consulate in Mombasa. Tanzania was a founder member of the East African Community (EAC) in 1967 before it collapsed in 1977 and got revived in 2000.
Tanzania’s third President Benjamin Mkapa mediated between former President Daniel arap Moi and Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni. He also helped broker peace in Kenya after the 2008 post-election crisis. On November 30, 2019, Tanzania backed Kenya’s bid for a non-permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council.
By Citizen.
