The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Tanzania have signed an air transport agreement and a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for enhanced cooperation in tourism development.
An air transport agreement is an agreement which two nations sign to allow international commercial air transport services between their territories.
The agreements were signed at the first ministerial meeting of the UAE-Tanzania joint higher committee in Abu Dhabi on December 20th, 2016.
At the meeting, the two countries also recognized the importance of concluding negotiations regarding the agreement on promotion and protection of investment and the agreement on avoidance of double taxation on income.
”Barriers that hinder free flow of investment between the two trading partners should be removed,” said Al Hashemi, Minister of State for International Cooperation of the UAE.
She also explained that the private sector can play an important role in boosting bilateral ties in areas of trade and investment if provided and empowered with adequate means to achieve that.
Al Hashemi called on both countries to explore business and investment opportunities in vital areas of priority like agriculture, infrastructure, energy and tourism.
”The meeting underscores our resolve to build a strategic partnership that does not only contribute towards deepening the bilateral ties based on shared values and visions, but also enables the two countries to advance efforts aimed at realising peace, security and stability in our two regions and beyond,” Augustine Mahiga, Minister of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation of Tanzania, said addressing the meeting.
He said he was glad to be in Abu Dhabi and termed the first ministerial meeting of the joint higher committee as ‘ historic’ as it would contribute to further solidifying bilateral relations and co-operation.
UAE Tanzania Relations
From 2003 to 2016, UAE’s direct accumulative investment in the Tanzania rose to USD991.5m.
The trade balance between UAE and Tanzania stands at around USD2b annually. Tanzania imports mainly refined petroleum products from the UAE, while the UAE is the largest buyer of cloves from Tanzania.
”Despite the slight decline of 8.8% in non-oil trade exchange between the two countries from USD1.58b in 2014 to USD1.45b in 2015, Tanzania, occupies the 41st rank in the list of UAE’s non-oil trading partners,” Minister Al Hashemi noted.
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