Qatar expresses interest to increase its investment in Tanzania’s livestock, fisheries sectors

DODOMA: QATAR has expressed interest in increasing investment in Tanzania’s livestock and fisheries sectors, with a focus on meat production, poultry farming, animal feed production and deep-sea fishing.

The interest was expressed during talks between Tanzania’s Minister for Livestock and Fisheries, Ambassador Dr Bashiru Ally Kakurwa, and former Qatari Deputy Prime Minister Dr Khalid bin Mohammad Al Attiyah, aimed at strengthening investment cooperation between the two countries.

Ambassador Kakurwa said Tanzania has prioritised increasing meat production and exports, expanding poultry farming, developing deep-sea fishing and improving fisheries infrastructure.

He said Tanzania needs Qatar’s cooperation to meet quality standards, food safety requirements and trade conditions, which would help expand the market for Tanzanian meat products in Tanzania, Qatar and other Middle Eastern countries.

For his part, Dr Al Attiyah said Qatar has a large market for livestock and fisheries products, stressing the importance of developing a value chain linking livestock production and related products with animal feed production, processing and markets.

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He said poultry feed accounts for approximately 70 percent of production costs, making increased domestic production of maize and soybeans important for reducing production costs and improving the competitiveness of Tanzanian products.

Tanzania and Qatar have agreed to expedite the completion of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that will establish a framework for implementing investment projects in the livestock and fisheries sectors.

The two countries also agreed to continue technical discussions to ensure that the identified investment opportunities are translated into concrete projects that will deliver mutual benefits.