Minister for Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation, Dr Augustine Mahiga (pictured) continued with his four-day official visit to China by meeting a Chinese potential investor into various projects in the country.
According to the Tanzania Ambassador to China, Mr Mbelwa Kairuki, Dr Mahiga met and held talks with officials from Xian Qujiang, a potential investor who is planning to invest in the tourism industry and other strategic businesses.
In the tourism industry, the proposed investment projects that the investor eyes include the construction of a lodge in Serengeti, a resort at Mount Kilimanjaro and a resort in Zanzibar. Other proposed areas of investment include establishment of domestic airlines for sightseeing and charter service, a theme park at Mount Kilimanjaro and a luxury train service for tourists on Tanzania Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA).
The investor is also planning to construct a tourist park at Bagamoyo Export Zone, record TV series and a documentary on TAZARA and also come up with a publication and copyright trading on Chinese books.
Early yesterday, Dr Mahiga met the Chinese Vice-Minister of Commerce, Mr Qian Keming whereby the two officials agreed to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries. This is the first official visit by Dr Mahiga to China since he was appointed by President John Magufuli to head the foreign docket.
Dr Mahiga is visiting the second largest economy at the invitation of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. During his four-day visit, Dr Mahiga will exchange in-depth views with Mr Wang on bilateral relations on international and other regional issues of mutual concern.
Sino-Tanzanian relations have witnessed a long-term healthy and steady development since the establishment of diplomatic relations. In 1965, China and Tanzania signed “The Treaty of Friendship between the People’s Republic of China and the United Republic of Tanzania. Since then, China and Tanzania have enjoyed brotherly relations.
In recent years, Tanzania has become a beneficiary of various preferential business opportunities offered by China. According to 2016 statistics from Tanzania Investment Centre (TIC), China’s direct investment to Tanzania was 7 billion US dollars, making the Asian nation the largest FDI source country of Tanzania.
China is also Tanzania’s largest trading partner with the total trade volume in 2016 as high as 3.88 billion US dollars. In the coming five years, the total Chinese foreign investment is expected to reach 750 billion dollars.
Daily News
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