On 22nd March 2022, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance and Planning of Tanzania, Mr. Emmanuel Tutuba, and the Ambassador of the European Union (EU) to Tanzania, H.E. Manfredo Fanti, signed three EU-funded financing agreements to the benefit of Tanzanian citizens, for a total amount of EUR 180 million (TZS 469.45 billion), all in grants.
This funding is part of the EUR 426 million (TZS 1.1 billion) package announced during the visit of H.E. Samia Suluhu Hassan, President of Tanzania, to Brussels when she met with H.E. Charles Michel, President of the European Council, and H.E. Ursula Von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, on 17 and 18 February 2022.
The three actions signed today form part of the Global Gateway, a new European strategy to boost smart, clean, and secure links in digital, energy, and transport sectors and to strengthen health, education, and research systems across the world.
EU Ambassador, H.E. Manfredo Fanti, explained that “very concretely, in Tanzania, the EU will start rolling out its Global Gateway in three directions. First, it will contribute to the development of quality infrastructure and will promote wellbeing in the cities of Mwanza, Tanga and on Pemba Island – also involving EU Member-States, as “Team Europe”, to maximise impact. Secondly, it will support the Digital Agenda of the Government of Tanzania to connect goods, people and services, to the benefit of all Tanzanians. Finally, it will empower Tanzania’s women and girls by promoting their rights and unlocking their strong potential to boost the Tanzanian economy.”
As for the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance and Planning, Mr. Emmanuel Tutuba, he noted that “the three actions we signed today will target both Mainland and Zanzibar and they are fully aligned with and in support of our National Visions for Development. They comprise a significant amount of direct support to the National budget, which is the preferred financing modality of the Government of Tanzania, and I believe these programs will have a transformative impact in the selected cities and in the fields of Digitalisation and Gender.”
The Delegation of the European Union to Tanzania tresses, in its press release, that this agreement illustrates the strengthening of the excellent relations between Tanzania and EU, with the delivery of a successful high-level political dialogue on 30 October 2021, the return of the European Investment Bank to Tanzania for both private and public investments, and consultations between trade experts from Government of Tanzania and the European Commission as part of a process aiming at a European Union – East African Community Economic Partnership Agreement.
The EU Global Gateway
The European Commission and the EU High Representative have set out the Global Gateway, a new European strategy to boost smart, clean, and secure links in digital, energy, and transport sectors and to strengthen health, education, and research systems across the world.
The EU is stepping up its offer to its partners with major investments in infrastructure development around the world.
Between 2021 and 2027, Team Europe, meaning the EU institutions and EU Member States jointly, will mobilize up to EUR 300 billion of investments in: digital, climate and energy, transport, health, and education and research.
