New Delhi: India on Friday offered help to Tanzania for developing its natural gas sector as the two countries discussed ways to broaden economic and strategic engagement between Asia’s third largest economy and a key East African state.
The offer was extended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during talks with visiting Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete who arrived in India on Wednesday. Kikwete, a two-term president who will step down in October, is in India on a four-day visit. This is the first visit by an African head of state since the Modi government took office in May 2014.
The visit also comes ahead of the third India-Africa Summit that India is scheduled to host in October. The aim of the summit is to strengthen economic and strategic links between India and the African continent. The two previous summits were held in Delhi in 2008 and in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa in 2011.
Once in the forefront of the campaign against decolonization and apartheid, India’s influence on the African continent began to wane thanks India’s focus on refashioning ties with the West at the end of the Cold War.
In a first this year, India has invited all 54 African heads of state for the summit that is to take place between 26-30 October in New Delhi. This is the largest gathering of foreign dignitaries in India since the Non-Aligned heads of state in New Delhi in 1983.
Speaking to journalists after the official talks, Modi said India and Tanzania would establish a joint working group to strengthen cooperation in counter terrorism. “We have a common interest in maritime security in the Indian Ocean and a peaceful and prosperous Africa. Terrorism in our respective regions is a concern for both countries. We have agreed to establish a Joint Working Group to strengthen our co-operation in counter-terrorism,” Modi said.
Describing Tanzania as an “Indian Ocean partner”, Modi said that India was Tanzania’s “largest trading partner and a long-standing development partner.”
Modi also urged Tanzania to open up more sectors for investments and exports. “Indian investments in Tanzania exceed $3 billion and cover many areas. Indian investors are ready to invest more in Tanzania that would support Tanzania’s development and trade,” he said.
The pacts signed between the two countries included one for a loan agreement between the Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) and Tanzanian government on a line of credit for $268.35 million for extension of a drinking water pipeline projec
Kikwete on his part expressed his country’s support for India’s bid to secure a permanent seat in an enlarged UN Security Council. African support is crucial for India to win a permanent seat given that the continent has 54 votes.
