Obama set to land in Tanzania

Dar es Salaam. President Jakaya Kikwete leads the nation today in welcoming his US counterpart, Mr Barack Obama, who is on the last leg of a poignant state visit to Sub-Saharan Africa, where he has deep family connections.

Jubilant crowds are expected to line tidied-up streets to cheer the US leader’s entourage that includes First Lady Michelle Obama. President Kikwete and Mama Salma will be on hand to receive them on their arrival at State House.

Air Force One, the jumbo jet ferrying the President from South Africa, is scheduled to land at Julius Nyerere International Airport shortly before 3pm. It will be the culmination of weeks of preparations to host Mr Obama, the world’s most powerful leader, and the First Family.

There has been palpable excitement since Tanzania was chosen, alongside South Africa and Senegal, for the US leader’s eight-day tour of Africa--which has drawn mixed feelings in neighbouring Kenya, where his father was born. But President Obama’s visit will not be without its trying moments. Life will come to a near-standstill for the five million or so residents of Dar es Salaam for two days, given tight security arrangements in and around the city.

The traffic gridlock was already at tipping point as scores of other heads of state and several first ladies arrived earlier for two parallel conferences--and there is every likelihood that the situation will worsen. Former US President George Bush, his wife Laura and Cherie Blair, wife of former UK Premier Tony Blair, are among the VIPs attending the Smart Partnership Dialogue and the First Ladies Summit.

Police have warned that key roads will be closed so the Obamas can attend at least 10 events in the 20 hours they will be here. They fly back to the US tomorrow afternoon. The airspace, according to a logistics plan, will be closed two hours each way before arrival and departure from the airport.

Informal traders who hawk products and tout other services along the busy roads have been cleared off and beggars and street families have literally vanished in recent days.

Inconveniences notwithstanding, Tanzania is basking in the glory of being chosen for President Obama’s first major foray into Africa since he won re-election in 2012 for a second and final term in office. He made a short visit to Ghana and Egypt in 2008 soon after his historic feat as the first African-American to occupy the White House.

Washington says the trip is motivated by America’s desire and commitment to deepen trade and diplomatic ties with African countries.

“Frankly, we see Africa as one of the most important emerging regions in the world, and a place for the US to significantly increase our engagement for trade and investment by US businesses,” Mr Ben Rhodes, the deputy national security adviser, said in a conference call with the media ahead of the trip that started in Senegal on Wednesday. “We can send a signal through this trip that this isn’t a one-off.”

President Obama, he added, will seek to demonstrate that the US offers a better development model for Africa focusing on democracy, peace and security, youth and food security.

“When you look at what the United States is focused on,” Mr Rhodes added, “it is support for African democratic institutions, for models of economic growth that will be broad-based and will bring opportunities to more people.”

In Dar es Salaam, Mr Obama will be accompanied by more than 500 business executives scouting for investment opportunities. They will hold talks with local officials and invited guests from other East African Community members.

Mr Obama’s visit comes barely four months after that of Chinese President Xi Jinping, who made Tanzania his first stop to address the government’s development strategy for Africa. Domestic pressure has been mounting on the Obama administration to act bullishly in Africa and check China’s growing influence.

China has lately overtaken Kenya to become Dar’s second largest source of investment, with bilateral trade reaching $2.47 billion in 2012, a 15.2 percent growth.

China became Africa’s biggest trading partner in 2009 and bilateral trade has since ballooned to $198.4 billion. By June 2012, it had invested $45 billion, including over $15 billion of direct investment through some 2,000 Chinese companies spread across 50 African countries.

Foreign Affairs Minister Bernard Membe says the country has everything to gain from the high profile visits by the world’s leaders and attributes it to the role Tanzania plays in peace-making and regional integration. “Tanzania cherishes its historical ties with the US and will strive to cement it for the benefit of the two peoples,” Mr Membe said in an interview with Clouds FM. “There are no underhand deals even as we engage in trade and investment talks with visiting dignitaries.”

The minister also cited the country’s role in regional conflict resolution, promotion of good governance and the war on poverty as the factors driving its growing influence on the international stage.

Said Mr Membe: “The back-to-back visit by Mr Jinping and now Mr Obama is testimony to our good standing in the region, Africa and the world. The country remains peaceful and well governed under President Kikwete. You may not like him here, but world leaders acknowledge his efforts at economic empowerment of the poor and regional peace and integration.”

The bilateral highlights likely to come under the spotlight include the Millennium Challenge Compact that provided over $700 million to Tanzania in the past five years for infrastructure, energy and water projects.

The US President will announce a multilateral electricity project for East Africa and other African countries worth billions of dollars. The African Development Bank has contributed some $1.63 billion to the project.

Mr Obama will also attend a session of the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition, started in 2012 at Camp David during a meeting of G8 leaders and African leaders to address hunger and food self-sufficiency.

Membership of the alliance has gone from three to nine countries and over $3.5 billion in letters of intent of private sector commitments to invest in agriculture in the nine countries, including Tanzania.