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Tanzania is speeding up its efforts to establish stronger trade ties within Africa

February 6th 2023, 9:50:23 am
Dr Ashatu Kijaji
  • Tanzania has set March as the deadline for gathering feedback on the products it would trade to other African countries. 
  • Currently, Tanzania has plans to permit the commerce of 10 items.
  • This report is courtesy of an exclusive interview given by the Tanzanian minister of Investment and Trade, Dr. Ashatu Kijaji to the Citizen, a Tanzanian news publication. 

The government of Tanzania has set March as the deadline for gathering feedback on the items that will be traded under the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) beginning in July of this year.

The Tanzanian minister of Investment and Trade, Dr. Ashatu Kijaji, disclosed this information in an exclusive interview with The Citizen, a Tanzanian news agency.

“We have yet to identify the products. We have only recently begun discussions with members of the business community in order for them to tell us which products they want to trade under the AfCFTA arrangement,” the minister stated.

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She reaffirmed her belief that starting in July of this year, Tanzania will permit the commerce of 10 items. The first engagement meeting between the public and private sectors took place last week, and the minister promised that subsequent follow-up meetings between both sectors would ensue.

Dr. Kijaji continued by saying that attendees of the meetings will utilize them as a forum to discuss the problems they are facing and formulate a plan of action.

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“We (the government) want to communicate in the same language as investors. They will tell us what hurts them in trade and investment, and we will act accordingly,” she said.

She also added, “we must trade under the AfCFTA. We will not accept Tanzania as the only marketplace for products from other countries.”

Alongside these seven other countries, Ghana, Kenya, Cameroon, Rwanda, Egypt, Mauritius, and Tunisia, Tanzania was selected as one of the countries to pilot “the AfCFTA Initiative on Guided Trade Trial.” This initiative was launched in 2022, and about 100 traders from Ghana, Cameroon, Kenya, Egypt, Mauritius, and Rwanda are currently trading under the AfCFTA program whose trading started officially on January 1 last year. This information is courtesy of The Citizen which got its hands on official government documents.

The President of Tanzania Samia Hassan Suluhu, whose political party, The Chama Cha Mapinduzi, celebrated its 46th birthday today, has long dreamed of bringing all of Africa together through economic efforts. She has been committed to fostering cooperation on the home continent and keeps working to achieve this goal.

Chinedu Okafor
Chinedu is a Senior Reporter at Business Insider Africa with 5 years experience creating profoundly engaging and insightful content.

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