Dar, Moscow deepen economic relations
CAIRO: TANZANIA and Russia have agreed to strengthen economic and strategic ties, a move that could open new avenues for trade, investment and development in key sectors, including energy, education, health, agriculture, infrastructure, transportation and tourism.
The agreement came during talks on Friday in Cairo, Egypt, where Tanzania’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation, Ambassador Mahmoud Thabit Kombo, together with the Minister for Information, Culture, Arts and Sports, Palamagamba Kabudi, met Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Victorovich Lavrov on the sidelines of the ongoing Russian-African Foreign Ministers’ Forum.
Minister Kombo expressed Tanzania’s readiness to collaborate with Russia in implementing joint projects and initiatives, while Minister Lavrov pledged to provide targeted support to sustain the historically strong relations between the two countries.
The Cairo meeting highlights Tanzania’s effort to diversify its international partnerships and leverage historical ties with Russia to boost trade, investment and sectoral growth for long-term national benefit.
Tanzania and Russia share a long history of bilateral relations dating back to Tanzania’s early years of independence. Over the decades, Russia has supported Tanzania in education, technical training, infrastructure development, defence and energy projects, while Tanzania has actively engaged Russia to attract investment and expand trade.
Trade between Russia and Tanzania has increased by 20 per cent since the beginning of 2025, with Russian exports to the East African country growing by a quarter, TASS reported in May, citing data discussed at a joint Moscow Dar es Salaam economic cooperation meeting in St Petersburg.
The surge has been driven largely by outbound shipments of wheat, meslin and fertilisers, while tobacco raw materials, coffee, tea and fruit remain key imports from Tanzania, Russian Economic Development Minister, Maksim Reshetnikov said.
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In strengthening its relationship, the two nations also established the Intergovernmental Commission for Trade and Economic Cooperation in December 2022. In just over two years, the Commission has already held two sessions – first in Dar es Salaam in October 2024 and then in St Petersburg in May 2025 – with the next meeting planned for Arusha in 2026.
It has distinguished itself through active involvement of government officials, private businesses, scientific institutions and universities from both countries. Its work has been structured around areas crucial for Tanzania’s development, including agriculture, energy, logistics, minerals processing, tourism, healthcare and information technology.
By doing so, the Commission has become the primary mechanism through which policy ambitions are translated into practical arrangements. One of the earliest visible results of this cooperation appeared in the tourism sector.
At the invitation of Tanzanian authorities, a specialised familiarisation tour was organised for leading Russian tour operators. In its aftermath, Russian companies began developing travel packages that could boost the inflow of Russian tourists not only to Zanzibar but also to mainland destinations – an important step that officials on both sides view as essential for widening economic ties and supporting broader people-to-people connectivity.
