VP: Be well informed of opportunities, priorities

VICE-PRESIDENT Dr Philip Mpango has stressed the importance of every ambassador representing Tanzania abroad being aware of opportunities, priorities and basic statistics of the country.

He made the remarks on Friday in Dodoma during a meeting with Tanzanian Ambassador to Türkiye, Idd Seif Bakari.

For instance, according to Dr Mpango, Tanzania currently places strong emphasis on economic diplomacy, hence envoys must be well-versed in it in order to effectively represent Tanzania.

“Therefore, I insist that every ambassador must have at the very least some fundamental information about our nation, including information about both sides of the Union, opportunities we have and our top priorities,” he said.

In addition, he stressed, “I want to emphasise that you should have and be well versed with the National Development Vision, Zanzibar’s Development Vision, and the Five-Year National Development Plan 2021/22-2025/26 because that is where the priorities of our nation lie.”

The VP further said there are also other sectors to focus on, such as the Kiswahili language, sports, art and culture, saying it is very essential because not everyone wants to come and see animals, some want to come and learn our culture and language.

He also tasked Amb Bakari to place special focus on educational opportunities, especially in Türkiye, where education is quite advanced. “Let’s use our friendship to develop our relationships.”

Dr Mpango told Amb Bakari to see to it that he carried out economic diplomacy by locating markets for Tanzanian goods as well as investors, particularly in priority areas, by searching for chances for businesspeople and Tanzanians generally.

In order to benefit both Tanzania and Türkiye, he also asked the ambassador to strengthen and advance those relations.

The VP instructed Amb Bakari to ensure he attends numerous meetings that will facilitate learning, present the positive aspects of Tanzania, and promote tourism.

In a similar vein, the vice-president has stated that it is crucial for the envoy to make concerted effort to get to know Türkiye well, which he would be representing Tanzania, in order to be able to understand the fundamentals they use to improve their economy and impart those skills to Tanzania.

Aside from that, he has also entrusted him with the task of uniting Tanzanians living in Türkiye in order to ensure that they can make a contribution to the development of Tanzania.

For his part, Amb Bakari spoke of the advantages of the two nations’ relationships, including the possibility of exporting crops like cotton, coffee, tea and tobacco in Türkiye.

According to him, the Embassy wants to expand the produce market, encourage Turkish businesses to engage in Tanzania and raise the value of the crops produced in the nation as a result of Türkiye’s continued involvement in the textile industry.

“The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) about promoting tourist attraction in Türkiye is already in the final preparation for signing,” he said, adding that the Embassy has developed a strategy to promote tourism through Turkish Airlines by announcing tourist attractions during the take-off and landing of planes.