Japan To Assist Tanzania In Improving Roads Infrastructure To Boost Trade

The Governments of Tanzania and Japan have recently organized a one-day event in Dar es Salaam to share and exchange experiences in quality infrastructure development to provide Tanzanian companies with expertise necessary to improve trade through productivity.

The conference titled “Tanzania-Japan Public-Private Quality Infrastructure” counted with the participation of government officials and delegates from representative companies from both countries, to share and exchange the technology and networking from Japanese contractors, consultants, business, and trading companies to the local companies.

Over the recent years, Tanzania and Japan have closely worked to strengthen cooperation and improve their socio-economic relationship by assisting Tanzania in developing its infrastructure and achieve sustainable economic growth, explained Tanzania’s Prime Minister, Prof. Kassim Majaliwa.

Tanzania is a gateway for six land-locked countries and this is why the country is focused on improving roads, railways, airways, waterways, pipelines, and Information Communication Technology (ICT) networks to support local and regional economic growth, Minister Majaliwa added.

To reach this goal the conference gave the opportunity to realize business matching meetings within delegates from both countries for the promotion of quality transport infrastructure that is key for agriculture, trade, and energy and minerals sectors.

The meetings are expected to boost Japanese private foreign direct investment (FDI) to contribute on roads’ construction and transport infrastructure to also support human development by job creation.

According to the Embassy of Japan in Tanzania, the number of Japanese companies interested on developing businesses in the African country has been steadily growing in the recent years and yielded to the creation of the Committee on Commerce and Industry of Japanese Society of Tanzania (CCIJT) in 2011.

As of 2015, CCIJT counts with 13 companies holding full membership and 13 others that hold associated ones.

Japan is also one of Tanzania’s main donors ranking third with USD 338.43 million in 2013, behind USA with USD 734.11 million and the World Bank (WB) with USD 706.83 million in the same period according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) latest statistics.