President Truong Tan Sang speaks at the event (Photo: VNA)Dodoma (VNA) – President Truong Tan Sang and Tanzanian Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa attended a business forum between Vietnamese and Tanzanian enterprises in Dar Es Salaam city on March 9.
The President is on a State visit to Tanzania at the invitation of his Tanzanian counterpart John Magufuli.
Tanzanian businesses expressed their wish to expand the cooperation with Vietnam to the potential field of telecommunications besides the existing ties in agriculture, noting that the Tanzanian Government is striving to build a safe and friendly investment environment.
They said through the year’s forum, Tanzania wants to elevate trade with Vietnam which remains modest at 100 million USD in 2010 and 105 million USD in 2013.
The two countries’ business associations have signed a Memorandum of Understanding on increasing delegation exchanges, promoting trade and seeking investment.
Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa said Tanzania could serve as a gateway to help Vietnamese businesses make inroads into the 300-million strong market in East Africa.
As one of the most attractive investment destinations in Africa, Tanzania drew a 700-million-USD investment project from the Vietnamese military-run telecom Viettel, he noted.
The country has passed a number of investment laws to ensure rights and interests of foreign investors, he said.
The Government leader revealed that his country is prioritising infrastructure, nutrition industry, ore sifting, seafood processing, and tourism projects and hopes Vietnam will pay more attention to these fields.
Particularly, Tanzania is targeting a power growth of 5-8 percent, so it welcomes overseas energy investors, including those from Vietnam, to this sector, he said.
For his part, President Truong Tan Sang said Vietnam’s development policy encourages cooperation with Tanzania and other African countries.
He informed the business circles about the outcomes of his talks with Tanzanian counterpart John Magufuli, saying the two nations recognised the significance of increasing economic collaboration.
He described the launch of Viettel’s telecom services under the brand name Halotel in Tanzania as an initial success, which will open up new cooperation prospects in the coming time.
Vietnam has strength in agriculture and is willing to help Tanzania implement the national food security programme, he said, adding that Vietnam is importing cashew nut and cotton from Tanzania, and is eyeing other strategic products of the African country.
He confirmed that Vietnam will create all possible conditions for Tanzanian businesses to seek investment opportunities in the Southeast Asian country.
The President urged the business circles to recommend to the two governments policies facilitating business ties.-VNA
