Tanzania, Hungary pledge to strengthen bilateral ties

Dar es Salaam. When President Samia Suluhu Hassan and her Hungarian counterpart, Katalin Novák wave goodbye to each other after the later’s three-day tour of  Tanzania, there is no doubt both leaders will be proud of  the outcome of the visit.

The two leaders have agreed to strengthen bilateral relations, a move that would see investors from Hungary coming to Tanzania for investment in strategic areas.

They also agreed to bolster bilateral ties through diplomatic consultation and economic relations through investment in strategic sectors.

President Novák landed in Tanzania on Monday, July 17 for a three-day visit that ends today.

The two leader held bilateral talks on many issues ranging from investments in key sectors to and diplomacy.

She becomes the first sitting Hungary President in history to visit Tanzania.

Speaking during a press briefing at the State House yesterday, President Hassan said his counterpart ans she identified strategic areas and exchanged views on how to strengthen multilateral cooperation.

“This is in line with Hungary’s desire to reinvigorate its relations with Africa.

“We discussed encouraging investors from Hungary to invest in strategic areas such as renewable energy, tourism, ICT, service delivery, mining, fisheries, manufacturing and finance,” she said.

The President said their talks also explored new areas of cooperation for the mutual benefit of the two nations.

“We have agreed to establish active diplomatic consultation between our countries. This arrangement will enable our two governments to interact and hold regular consultations on issues of mutual interests agreed upon,” said President Hassan.

The Head of State said the move was crucial in stimulating the current low level of trade and investment.

The volume of trade between Tanzania and Hungary stood at $4.2 million by 2022.

“We have registered our commitment to explore more opportunities, and promote business and investment between our two countries,” she said.

The two leaders also deeply discussed opportunities of cooperation in education.

The presidents witnessed the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the Stipendium Hungaricum Scholarship Programme by Education Minister Dr Adolph Mkenda and his Hungarian counterpart, Mr Tristan Azbej.

The program is the most prestigious higher education scholarship program which offers a wide range of courses for high-achieving international students with an excellent academic track record.

The Hungarian President Novák said her visit to Tanzania was the first for Hungarian president.

She expressed her excitement on meeting  a fellow woman head of state, saying that gave her a chance and responsibility to encourage more women not to live up to their dreams.

“We would like to encourage young girls and women around the world not give up on either motherhood or being successful in their professional life,”

She said mutual respect between Tanzania and Hungary can be the basis of strong cooperation and friendship.

“One of the many areas of our cooperation is education, it’s the key to our future in Tanzania and the same in Hungary,” she said adding that through the Stipendium Hungaricum Programme, Tanzanian students will receive fully-funded scholarship from the Hungarian government.