Tanzania, India's gateway to Africa hits $6.4 Billion trade milestone

• Mumbai-Dar es Salaam trade surpasses $6.4 billion, solidifying Tanzania's role as India's primary gateway to Africa.
• Tanzania hosts around $1.2 billion worth of Indian-assisted development projects, as stated by India's High Commissioner, Binaya Srikanta Pardhan, further enhancing bilateral ties. 
• Indian communities in Tanzania emerge as top investors, with growing interest in establishing new businesses, contributing significantly to local employment and economic growth.

Trade between Mumbai and Dar es Salaam has surpassed $6.4 billion, with Tanzania serving as the primary hub of India's connections with Africa, particularly East Africa.

Approximately $1.2 billion (Sh3 trillion) worth of Indian-assisted development projects are being carried out in Tanzania, according to Binaya Srikanta Pardhan, India's High Commissioner to Tanzania. Speaking at an event commemorating India's 77th anniversary of independence, the envoy was in Arusha.

“The Indian Communities in Tanzania are the leading investors in the country,” he said, noting that more Indians have indicated an interest in establishing further businesses there.

Other items that are in high demand in India include unwrought or semi-manufactured gold, dried leguminous vegetables, shelled coconuts, Brazil nuts, and cashew nuts. Along with their scooter and three-wheeled variations, Bajaj's Indian-made Boxer motorbikes are among the most well-liked in Tanzania.

But in addition to importing automobiles, Tanzania also brings in medicines, electrical transformers, static converters, and inductors, as well as cycles with auxiliary motors, as well as petroleum and oil derived from bituminous materials, turbo-jets, turbo-propellers, and other types of gas turbines.

The commissioner, who also unveiled the Hindi Cultural Center for Arusha, claimed that a large number of Indians own and operate a variety of businesses that have been putting many locals to work.

The honoree, Dotto Biteko, Minister of Minerals, used the occasion to welcome investors from India to engage in Tanzania's mining sector, claiming that those currently working in the area were doing well. According to Biteko, there are currently 50,000 Tanzanians of Indian descent residing in Tanzania, along with another 20,000 Indian citizens or people with Indian passports.

“Out of those, there are 2000 Indians living, working, or doing business in Arusha,” he added.

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