FRENCH EMBASSY PARTNERING TRADE VIA FORUM

THE French Embassy in Tanzania has organized a four-day forum that centred on fostering partnership and development through businesses in Dar es Salaam.

The Business forum, the first ever and dubbed ‘Semaine de la France’ (France Week), kicks off next Monday and expected to receive participants from 50 companies and 250 stakeholders from Dar es Salaam and Paris.

French Ambassador to Tanzania Malika Berak said that various sectors were selected for the France-Tanzania Business Forum on the back of the Dar es Salaam’s industrialization drive policy.

“This is a private sector driven forum… centred on strengthening and nurturing trade initiative whose ultimate goal is to improve France-Tanzania business partnership,” Berak told journalists yesterday.

The Ambassador said the unprecedented event envisages to spread a better knowledge of Dar and Paris by building new bridges and solidifying the existing relationship.

The event focused on sectors that would support the country’s strategy of industrialization namely energy, transport, digital solution, water and capacity building to local businesses.

Ms Berak said the operators from Tanzania’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation, Regional and International Relations, Ministry of Finance and Planning, the French Ministry of foreign affairs and Development Agency are closely associated with the event.

“The forum is an open eye for French companies who want to invest in Tanzania… As last year we carried similar event in Paris and most companies showed interest to come.

I’m grateful, our six months preparation paid off,” Ms Berak said. France Embassy’s Economic and Trade Advisor, Beatrice Alperte said the business forum focused on bonding partnership by supporting the dialogue between France and Tanzania public and private sector.

The dialogue centred on disseminating the expertise, experience and track records of French companies in Africa and promoting networking and win-win partnership between Dar and Paris private sector.

“The level of business between France and Tanzania is still low, in favour of Paris by 70 per cent… but that is why we are doing this forum to change the figures,” Ms Alperte said.

She admitted that French participation in East Africa bloc trading and investment was still low compared to West Africa but hope things will change. Ms Alperte said big French companies which operate in East Africa, Africa and new ones are coming to the event including Total, Engies, Egis, Bouygues and the like.

During the forum, apart from workshops on renewable energy, transport, ICT also roundtables on infrastructure financing, capacity building will be held.

Some firms participating in the forum will also stage some exhibitions while high level debate on architecture will be held under General Secretary of the French Architects Overseas Association.

At the sideline of the forum, regional meeting will take place incorporating 10 French ambassadors, trade commissioners from the East Africa and horn of Africa. Tanzania private sector will be led by Reginald Mengi, a business mogul and chairman of Tanzania Private Sector Foundation.

Source: DailyNews