Tanzania, Zambia sign natural gas deal as Samia wraps up trip

Dar es Salaam. President Samia Suluhu Hasan yesterday concluded her Zambia state visit as the two countries signed eight memoranda of understanding (MoUs), including an agreement for cooperation on the development of a natural gas export project.

The new gas pipeline is expected to transport liquefied natural gas from Tanzania to Zambia and is part of the expansion plans for the existing Tazama oil pipeline.

These agreements were signed yesterday by the respective ministers of the two countries during the final day of President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s state visit to Zambia.

In attendance was also the host Zambian President, Hakainde Hichilema.

The two countries also signed agreements covering various domains, including science and technology, defence, trade, investments, and medical services.

Speaking after the signing, President Hassan said there is a commitment from both countries to foster cooperation in areas of mutual interest, with the ultimate goal of enhancing economic development and regional stability.

“We hope that more agreements will be signed soon, given the ongoing talks,” she said.

The Tanzanian President had also taken a chance during her tour to call upon the Zambian business community to invest in the country.

“Tanzania is the country of the present and the future, and if you are not investing in Tanzania, you are missing the action,” the President said as she spoke during the Zambia-Tanzania business forum organised on the evening of October 24, 2023.

“Tanzania is growing in terms of the size of the market and supportive infrastructure keeps attracting investment. During the first quarter of the current fiscal year (July to September 2023), the gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 5.6 percent,” she said.

President Hassan added: “We are optimistic and justifiably so that in the next two years the GDP growth will return to its pre-Covid-19 levels, averaging 6 percent. We are close to that percentage”.

She later emphasised the need for collaboration and partnerships between the two countries so that the two countries can come together and elevate the level of trade volume in terms of money (value).

President Hichilema insisted that there is no need for the two countries to reinvent the wheel but rather to share their experiences and collectively work on common interests, creating a win-win situation.

‘We want these MoUs signed today (yesterday) to yield value and even generate revenue to support education, health, and other social sectors,” he said.

President Hichilema also urged on the significance of creating food security by utilising the available resources so that no single Zambian and/or Tanzanian goes to bed hungry.

In regard to the expansion of the Tazama pipeline and the creation of a new gas pipeline, President Hichilema says there is a continuous need to invest more in the networks of infrastructure.

“That initiative (the Tazama pipeline) came from our two leaders, so it is now our duty to expand the diameter of that line, but a new added line will be good too,” he said during the business forum session.

“It will be essential, creating more opportunities and building on what we inherited from those who came before us,” he said.

The Tanzania-Zambia Mafuta (Tazama) pipeline transported crude petroleum products from Dar es Salaam to the Indeni refinery in Ndola, Zambia. The 1,710 kilometres of pipeline are owned by Tazama Pipeline Limited, a joint company of the governments of Zambia (66.7 percent) and Tanzania (33.3 percent).