India, Tanzania agree on five-year roadmap for defence cooperation

• India and Tanzania have finalised a five-year roadmap to expand overall bilateral defence cooperation including in areas of infrastructure building and collaboration in military equipment and technology.

• Both sides agreed on the roadmap at the second edition of India-Tanzania Joint Defence Cooperation Committee (JDCC) meeting that was held in Arusha on June 28 and 29.

• During the meeting, the two sides discussed a wide range of opportunities for collaboration with a view to enhancing security in the Indian Ocean Region.

• The Indian delegation highlighted the growing prowess of the Indian defence manufacturing to export to friendly countries. 

India-Tanzania Relations

• India shares close, warm and friendly relations with Tanzania which is bolstered by robust capacity building and avenues for development partnership. 

• From the 1960s to the 1980s, the political relationship involved shared commitments to anti-colonialism, non-alignment as well as South-South Cooperation and close cooperation in international fora.

• In the post-Cold War period, India and Tanzania both initiated economic reform programmes around the same time alongside developing external relations aimed at broader international political and economic relations, developing international business linkages and inward foreign investment.

• The High Commission of India in Dar es Salaam has been operating since November 19, 1961 and the Consulate General of India in Zanzibar was set up on October 23, 1974.

• India and Tanzania share a vibrant economic, commercial and business ties. India is the third largest trading partner of Tanzania with bilateral trade of $4.58 billion in 2021-22. India is also among the top five investment sources in Tanzania. Indian investments in Tanzania add up to $3.68 billion.

• India’s major exports to Tanzania include petroleum products, pharmaceuticals & chemicals, motor vehicles, electrical goods, articles of iron & steel, sugar, machinery, etc. Tanzania’s major exports to India include gold dore, cashew nuts, pulses, timber, spices (mainly cloves), ores and metal scrap, gemstones, etc.

• India and Tanzania signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Defence Cooperation in October 2003. The MoU provides an overarching framework for progressing various defence cooperation initiatives between the two countries. 

• Hydrography is another advancing area of cooperation between the two countries. Indian naval survey ships have conducted hydrographic surveys of Tanzanian ports and prepared navigational charts.

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