India enjoys encouraging share in Tanzanian exports and imports: Sanjiv Kohli

New Delhi: India enjoys an encouraging 18% share in Tanzanian imports and 14% share in Tanzanian exports said H.E. Mr. Sanjiv Kohli, High Commissioner, High Commission of India, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania in an interactive webinar on “India-Tanzania Business Promotion, Challenges and Opportunities – Post COVID19” organized  by PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The webinar was supported by Timberworkz.

India and Tanzania enjoy a vibrant business and commercial relationship. India is also among the top five investment sources in Tanzania and as per Tanzania Investment Centre, Indian investments in Tanzania add up to USD 2.2 billion. To understand the current business and trade relations between the two nations and the opportunities post Covid19, said H.E. Mr. Sanjiv Kohli, High Commissioner, High Commission of India, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Highlighting the long-term relationship between India and Tanzania, H.E. Mr. Sanjiv Kohli, said Tanzania has adopted a different approach in combating the control of pandemic. In Tanzania, COVID-19 cases in the country are 505 cases and we are following all the precautions but the business is running at a slow pace. He highlighted that Tanzania was one most vibrant and dynamic economies in the African continent and it has remained one of the top recipients of lines of credit in the region apart from being one of the largest beneficiaries of India’s ITEC program.

H.E. Mr. Sanjiv Kohli informed that Tanzania has been a better performing economy as compared to its neighbors over the past years. Tanzania has taken many projects related to power, roads, infrastructure, and many more which might see some slowdown but they will continue running. Over the last few years, GDP has been depended largely on public spending, construction, and infrastructure projects. In the next 2-3 years, there are a lot more projects which we will do in terms of infrastructure and power and many more. In the future, we hope that Tanzania will be a better place for business continues and GDP growth. Port development, infrastructure, mining, pharmaceuticals, and agri-processing remained the prospective sector of bilateral economic cooperation between both nations.

For us, the agriculture workforce will continue which will push up the outbreak on the national GDP. While there will be a slowdown in the mining sector but we are hopeful that it will bounce back again. India enjoyed an encouraging 18% share in Tanzanian imports and a 14% share in Tanzanian exports. Our connection with India is really important and we will continue our relationship with them. We need to help each other to recover from this pandemic, said H.E. Mr. Sanjiv Kohli.

H.E. Mr. Sanjiv Kohli said that we will use our knowledge and strength so that we start-up to fill and support each other post-COVID-19. Pharmaceuticals have always been a growing segment and we are a purchasing force in that sector. We look forwards to business opportunities and some value addition here and we are quite optimistic about it post this pandemic.  

Mr. Pradeep Multani, Vice President, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, in his welcome address shared that Africa has remained the automatic choice for business in India and AYUSH and other traditional medicine sectors can also explore the opportunity in various parts of Africa.

Mr. Vivek Agarwala, Chairman, International Affairs Committee for Africa, PHD Chamber talked about India and Tanzania relations over the years. He highlighted that this was the opportune time for the Indian businessmen to identify the areas of potential cooperation between both the nations, to capitalize on the same once things, return to normal post the pandemic.

Mr. Saurabh Sanyal, Secretary-General, PHD Chamber, gave a formal vote of thanks and mentioned that PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry aims to foster international relations in social, cultural, and economic fields where enterprises, government, and international organizations interact to promote and strengthen cooperation.

The participants raised their queries regarding Tourism, banking & finance, Ayush, and traditional medicine, skill development, during the discussion session. The webinar was moderated by Mr. Naveen Seth, Principal Director, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry and was attended by Mr. Nasir Zaidi, Chairman, International Affairs Committee for Gulf of PHD Chamber; Mr. Atul Anand, Co-Chairman, International Affairs Committee for ASEAN, East Asia; Mr. Surender Kalra, Co-Chairman, International Affairs Committee for Gulf of PHD Chamber; Mr. Vikram Gera, Co-chairman, Europe and CIS of PHD Chamber and by over 45 members of PHD Chamber which included industry players and other industry stalwarts from all across India.