Minister for Trade, Industries and Investment Charles Mwijage
Dar es Salaam. Minister for Trade, Industries and Investment Charles Mwijage has called on investors to consider venturing into pharmaceutical industries.
Mr Mwijage told the Israel Business delegation yesterday when he was officiating the Tanzania-Israel Business and Investment Forum (TIBIF) in Dar es Salaam.
“If you real need to invest in Tanzania today, then the pharmaceutical industry is the right sector and the government will provide full support,” he noted.
The minister, however, said there are several other sectors the investors may invest, but stressed that fifth phase government has a special focus on pharmaceutical industries in order to cut imports.
“Investing on pharmaceutical and medical industries is a good idea now because the market is there. Tanzania has a population of more than 54 million people who need medical equipment and drugs,” he said,
He added that the investors will also be able to access the East African Community (EAC) and South African Development Community (SADC) markets as well as some neighbouring countries, which are landlocked.
Moreover, Mr Mwijage disclosed that Tanzania is currently exporting more to Israel than what the county imports from the Middle East country.
“Israel has vast areas of desert and they import more food items from Tanzania,” he said.
He however, noted that, the volume of export to Israel is still very low and the exported items are in form of raw materials.
For her part, the Israel minister for Justice, Ms Ayelet Shaked promised to invest in the sector, harbouring hopes that advanced technologies from her country would revolutionise the sector.
“Considering the technologies available in Israel, I believe the Israelis will be interested to come and invest in pharmaceutical industries here, thanks to our friendship and conducive environment for investment,” she said.
