TANZANIA – Tanzania is set to benefit from India’s foreign direct investments (FDIs) amounting to US$8 billion, thanks to its direct flights to India.
The billion-dollar investment involves key priority areas, including agriculture, manufacturing, transportation of merchandise and skills transfer as identified by the Tanzania Investment Centre (TIC).
Agricultural products such as sisal, cotton, cashew nuts, avocados and minerals are central to India’s investments.
A representative from TIC, Mr Nestory Kissima noted that the two countries had been enjoying historical bilateral relations as learnt from last week’s business travel to Mumbai.
A meeting jointly convened by TIC, Air Tanzania company Limited (ATCL) and some Indian travel agencies saw the country exploring more business opportunities.
The areas of interest are sisal plantations and industries in regions like Tanga.
“The meeting explored business opportunities in India and the gates are open now for further business partnership and collaboration mostly in the agricultural sector,” said Kissima.
“Other investors are interested in Tanzania’s strategic geographical location which allows access to a number of African countries.”
Mr Kissima reiterated efforts made by the government in the transformation of the investment climate in the country.
Before the spread of coronavirus, ATCL had introduced four-day flights per week, connecting Dar es Salaam to Mumbai via its Boeing 787-8 with the capacity to carry 262 passengers and 30 tonnes of freight.
ATCL statistics show that most of the cargoes shipped to the country were dominated by pharmaceuticals destined to Tanzania and other Southern African countries.
FDI in India is a major monetary source for economic development in India. Foreign companies invest directly in fast growing private Indian businesses to take benefits of cheaper wages and changing business environment of India.
Economic liberalisation started in India in wake of the 1991 economic crisis and since then FDI has steadily increased in India, which subsequently generated more than 10 million jobs.
