Tanzania and Korea vow to strengthen ties

HILDA MHAGAMA

AS Tanzania and Korea celebrate 25th anniversary of their diplomatic relations, the two countries have vowed to strengthen their ties, promote mutual interests and achievement of common goals.

Korea has provided more than 600 million US dollars as assistance to Tanzania for the past decade, focusing its development cooperation efforts towards those in greater need for support.

Speaking during the Korea- Tanzania 25th anniversary held in Dar es Salaam yesterday, Director of Diaspora department in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and East Africa Cooperation Ms Anisa Mbega said these ties have been developed in many areas, including information technology, commerce and education.

“As we continue to strengthen our diplomatic relations, early this March Tanzania appointed ambassador-designate of Tanzania to the Republic of Korea with a view to open a fully fledged embassy in Seoul,” she noted.

She further said the diplomatic ties have extended even in academic institutions that nurture diplomats in which Centre for Foreign Relations (CFR) and the Korea National Diplomatic Academy (KNDA) was at a good stage.

Apart from economic cooperation, Ms Mbega said Tanzania has also witnessed a rise of cultural exchanges and people to people relations through the Korean volunteering programme in Africa, training and education.

She said over the last two decades, the government of the Republic of Korea continued to support development efforts in Tanzania in a wide range of sectors, including infrastructure development, health, water sanitation and energy, to mention a few.

Some landmark projects, she said, include among others the Malagarasi Bridge, the 600 beds new Muhimbili teaching hospital in Mloganzila, the mother and child hospital in Chanika and the expected new state of the art Selander Bridge, whose construction is expected to commence in September this year.

Earlier, the Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Tanzania, Mr Song Geum-young, said in 2016 trade between the two countries reached almost 200 million US Dollars and will continue to grow.

“Economic cooperation and partnership will be strengthened as more and more Korean companies seek opportunities in Tanzania, people-to-people exchanges continue to increase, with more than 3,000 visitors visiting annually,” he said.

He further said the Republic of Korea, as one of the poorest countries in the world with a GDP per capita of merely 60 US dollar in 1948, became one of the major global economic powerhouses, with a GDP per capita reaching 28,313 US dollars in 2016.