A New Era in Türkiye-Tanzania Relations

The visit of Samia Suluhu Hassan, who came to Türkiye upon the invitation of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on April 17, brought Türkiye-Tanzania relations to a new era with the signing of 6 memorandums of understanding, especially in trade and education. Although Tanzania was connected to Turkish lands with the presence of the Ottoman Empire, the result ended in independence after the rupture due to the colonial mentality. Tanzania, which was under British mandate in the 1920s, was freed from the British and German colonial mentality and the Republic of Tanzania was established on April 26, 1964, with the union of Zengibar and Tanganyika. And Türkiye-Tanzania relations started with the opening of the Dar es Salaam Embassy.

Relations between the Republic of Türkiye and the United Republic of Tanzania began with the opening of the Dar es Salaam Embassy in 1979; However, the embassy had to be closed in 1984 due to budget cuts. The first presidential visits from Tanzania to Türkiye took place between 17 and 21 February 2010, with the reopening of the Turkish Embassy in Dar es Salaam with the visit of President of the Republic of Türkiye Abdullah Gül to Tanzania in February 2009 and the invitation of Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete to Türkiye. There were great steps that accelerated relations between the countries.

Especially in Africa, the increase in the number of our embassies from 12 to 44 from 2002 to 2022 is ahead of the diplomatic successes in Africa in the last 20 years. Relations were brought to a sustainable mechanism with Türkiye being declared an observer member of the African Union in 2005, a strategic partner of the Continent at the Summit in 2008, and the First Türkiye-Africa Partnership Summit held in Istanbul on 18-21 August 2008.

Relations between Türkiye and Tanzania accelerated with the opening of the embassy, ​​allowing the opening of publicly supported institutions. Important steps were taken in the field of public diplomacy, especially with the support of Yunus Emre Institute, TIKA and Maarif Foundation. Maarif Foundation’s presence in Tanzania continues to achieve success in education by getting ahead of FETO members.

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan visited Tanzania on 22-23 January 2017 as part of his East Africa visit. A total of 10 agreements were signed on the occasion of the visit, including education, trade and technology. As a result of the negotiations held on many issues, especially FETO, the bilateral trade volume, which was approximately 11 million dollars in 2003, increased to approximately 350 million dollars in 2023. In addition to 14 completed projects worth 6.4 billion dollars in Tanzania by MÜSİAD and the Turkish Contractors Association, it sees significant divided use in East Africa with the regulations of the Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK).

State leaders who came together on April 8, 2024, announced that Türkiye and Tanzania signed 6 memorandums of understanding, especially on investment and education. As can be understood from President Suluhu’s words, Tanzania-Türkiye friendly relations are heading towards a process of deepening in the new period. Pointing out that the country is developing day by day within the framework of mutual respect and win-win principles, President Erdoğan discussed the steps that can be taken to increase mutual trade and investments and stated that they aim to increase the bilateral trade volume to one billion dollars in the first place. Speaking at the Türkiye-Tanzania Business Forum under the leadership of DEIK, President Cevdet Yılmaz emphasized that the 21st century is the century of Africa and Türkiye and emphasized the goal of increasing the trade volume to 1 billion dollars.

In addition to Türkiye’s win-win relationship with Africa in the last 20 years, the perception of peace and security, which has been emphasized in recent years, increases Türkiye’s prestige in Africa not only in the diplomatic field but also among African societies. The fact that the number of African students coming to Türkiye for education increases every year compared to the previous year and the emphasis on higher education institutions and education at the beginning of the agreements made with African countries reveals this situation.