Tanzania: A Key Partner for India in the Western Indian Ocean Region

October 13, 2023

Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan visited India on an official state visit from 8 to 10 October 2023, during which the two countries announced the elevation of their bilateral relationship to the level of ‘Strategic Partnership’.1 With this, Tanzania became the fourth African country after South Africa, Rwanda, and Egypt, with whom India has elevated ties to the level of strategic partnership. The move is hardly surprising since both India and Tanzania are extended maritime neighbours across the Indian Ocean and have enjoyed cordial ties for more than 62 years. The visionary leadership of Julius Nyerere and Jawaharlal Nehru and their shared understanding of ideologies like self-reliance, Non-Aligned Movement, South-South Cooperation, and foreign affairs laid the foundations of a strong partnership between the two nations.

President Hassan’s visit came close on the heels of India hosting the G20 summit in September 2023 in New Delhi. In fact, she is the first African President to visit New Delhi after the inclusion of the African Union (AU) as a permanent member of the G20, a cause which was strongly advocated for by India. In recent years, both countries have taken substantial steps to strengthen their diplomatic ties. The Presidential visit from Tanzania took place after a period of eight years and served to inject fresh impetus into India–Tanzania bilateral ties. From the Indian side, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Dar es Salaam in July 2016 marked a significant milestone and cemented the strong developmental partnership of both countries. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar in July 2023 co-chaired the 10th India–Tanzania Joint Commission on Economic, Technical, and Scientific Cooperation in Dar es Salaam.2

Nature of existing cooperation

Tanzania is an important partner and a key linchpin of India’s overall outreach towards Africa and serves as a gateway for Indian access to other landlocked countries in Africa. Over two thousand years ago, trade thrived between Mandvi port in Gujarat and Zanzibar. The Sidi tribe of India traces its origins to the Zanzi coast of East Africa. Currently, there are over 60,000 People of Indian Origin in Tanzania who are treated as one of Tanzania’s tribes known as ‘Wahindi’. They are well-known for their enterprising culture and are mostly involved in trade and small businesses.

Despite the challenges posed by COVID-19 pandemic, India and Tanzania’s bilateral trade continues to grow, and currently stands at US$ 6.5 billion.3 Tanzania mostly imports petroleum products, medicines, and engineering goods from India, while exporting cereals, cashew nuts, pigeon peans and avocado to India. Tanzania is also a major beneficiary of India’s Duty-Free Tariff Preference (DFTP) scheme under which 98 per cent of product lines from Tanzania are imported tariff-free. Air Tanzania operates a direct flight from Mumbai to Dar es Salaam three times a week, which has helped to increase connectivity between the two countries.

Additionally, India is also among the top five investment sources for Tanzania whereby 630 investment projects worth US$ 3.74 billion have been registered.4 This is expected to create 60,000 new jobs for local Tanzanians. Indian investors are also exploring the possibility of setting up an Investment Park in Tanzania for which 1,000 acres of land will be allocated. The possibility of conducting trade in local currencies (Rupees and Tanzanian Shillings) are also being explored under which authorised banks in India will open Special Rupee Vostro Accounts (SVRA) of correspondent banks in Tanzania.5

The development cooperation aspect of the relationship merits special mention. India has been strongly involved in sectors like water, health, capacity building, scholarships, information, and communications technology (ICT), among others. India’s Export Import Bank (EXIM Bank) has extended Lines of Credit (LoC) worth US$ 1.1 billion for various projects, particularly in the water sector.6 India’s water projects in Tanzania are expected to enable access to safe drinking water to 6 million residents across 24 towns of Tanzania. Some notable projects are the Kiduthani project in Zanzibar and the Kibamba project in Dar es Salaam.

In terms of scholarships for capacity building, India offers 450 slots under its ITEC programme and 70 under ICCR scholarships to Tanzanian nationals. The ITEC slots for Tanzania are now increased to 1,000 and will cover emerging areas like Smart Ports, Space, Artificial Intelligence, Biotechnology, Aviation Management, etc.

India is also looking to export its digital solutions to African countries, including Tanzania, by encouraging more participation from the private sector. To increase Africa’s digital connectivity, India’s digital stack, including biometrics, Jan Dhan technology, and mobile connectivity can be leveraged.7 India has also set up a vocational training center in Pemba, Zanzibar and two ICT Centers at Dar es Salaam Institute of Technology and Nelson Mandela African Institute for Science & Technology (NMAIST) in Arusha. The most commendable development has been the opening of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras campus in Zanzibar, which is the first offshore IIT campus to be inaugurated in early November 2023.8

Outcomes of President Samia’s visit

A host of key initiatives were undertaken during President Samia’s visit to New Delhi. The elevation of the bilateral ties to the level of ‘Strategic Partnership’ is consequential. Tanzania’s proximity and location along the East African coast of the Indian Ocean and its stable political system makes it a natural partner for New Delhi. Being maritime neighbours, Tanzania holds an important place in India’s vision of Security and Growth for all in the Region (SAGAR). As the centre of gravity is moving towards the Indo-Pacific region, which also encompasses the east coast of Africa, India and Tanzania’s role will be critical in tackling the emerging non-traditional challenges, blue crimes, and for ensuring secure, free, and open shipping lanes in the Indian Ocean Region.

During the visit, a total of 6 MoUs were signed.9 These related to sharing of successful digital solutions to be implemented at population scale for digital transformation, an MoU on cultural exchange programme from 2023 to 2027, an MoU between National Sports Council of Tanzania and Sports Authority of India, MoU on setting up of an industrial park in Tanzania, a Technical Agreement between the Indian Navy and Tanzanian Shipping Cooperation Agencies on White Shipping, and an MoU between Cochin Shipyards Ltd and Marine Services Co. Ltd on Cooperation in Maritime Industry.

From training-centric to a strategic partnership

There are important developments particularly in the defence and security sector which has seen visible improvement in bilateral ties. At the second Joint Defence Cooperation Committee meeting held in Arusha in June 2023, India and Tanzania set up a five-year roadmap for defence cooperation. Earlier in October 2023, India’s Chief of Army Staff Gen. Manoj Pande went to Tanzania to take stock of current defence ties and explore areas of further collaboration. Tanzanian Defence Minister Stergomena Tax has also visited India in August 2022 and February 2023. Additionally, India has deployed an Indian Military Training Team (IMTT) at Tanzania’s Command and Staff College in Duluti.

The fact that India has successfully hosted mini-Defence Expos twice in Dar es Salaam in May 2022 and October 2023 is an indication of the growing interest between both the countries in expanding their cooperation in the defence industry. The Tanzanian example serves as a perfect template which India should try to implement in other African countries along the Western Indian Ocean region like Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa, among others. Blue Economy is another emerging focus area where potential for collaboration exists in areas like tourism, marine scientific research, seabed mining, and ocean conservation.

Although bilateral ties between India and Tanzania have improved, they continue to be constrained by inadequate awareness of the potential opportunities and the strong rise of China’s involvement in Tanzania’s business space. While India does recognise it cannot match China in terms of sheer economic heft, it can focus on its core competencies in areas like ICT, human resource development, healthcare, agriculture, capacity building, etc. Till now, the nature of India and Tanzania’s defence and security cooperation have for the most part been training-centric. Given the challenges posed by China in the Indian Ocean, it is time for both India and Tanzania to re-orient their relations from focusing on training to a partnership that is more strategic in nature.

Views expressed are of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Manohar Parrikar IDSA or of the Government of India.