Tanzania is back: How Samia restored nation’s presence on the global stage

 

President Samia Suluhu Hassan addresses the United Nations General Assembly in New York on September 23,2021. PHOTO | FILE

By Mohamed Yasin

Summary

·         Tanzania’s unique geopolitical and global influence can be traced way back to the Father of the Nation, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, who catapulted the East African nation to the world stage as

the Mecca of Africa’s liberation movement and the global voice of reason

When Tanzania speaks, the whole world stops and pays attention.” Such is the extent and influence of the Soft Power diplomacy that Tanzania has traditionally wielded on the global stage since gaining independence from Britain over six decades ago.

Tanzania’s unique geopolitical and global influence can be traced way back to the Father of the Nation, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, who catapulted the East African nation to the world stage as the Mecca of Africa’s liberation movement and the global voice of reason.

But in recent years, as the leadership of the day pursued a somewhat inward-looking foreign policy, Tanzania’s participation in international affairs slowly waned and the country went MIA (missing in action) in several high-level multilateral engagements.

Cometh the hour, cometh the woman

At a moment when Tanzania’s relationship with the world and its commitment to multilateralism was being questioned, President Samia Suluhu Hassan, East Africa’s first female leader, rose to the occasion.

After taking office in March 2021, President Hassan began re-engaging the world in earnest one elbow bump and handshake at a time.

From Beijing to Brussels. Dakar to Davos. Doha to Dubai. London to Los Angeles. Nairobi to New York. President Hassan has been on a breath-taking diplomatic whirlwind.

Pressing the diplomatic reset button

Over the past two years, the President attended dozens of meetings at diplomatic and economic capitals, including Addis, Accra, Bujumbura, Cairo, Kampala, Kigali, Kinshasa, Maputo, Washington and Wisconsin.

Repairing old ties, cementing existing relations and building new alliances. President Hassan has been a woman on a mission.

She has skilfully led Tanzania’s delegations to high-powered meetings of global diplomatic and economic significance, hence effectively restoring Tanzania’s position as a geopolitical and global diplomatic powerhouse.

Tanzania’s own diplomatic ‘Ronaldo’

To borrow a football analogy, just as Cristiano Ronaldo has single-handedly transformed the Arab league from obscurity to one of the worlds most watched football leagues, President Hassan has managed to change the perception of how the world views Tanzania for the better.

She has scored a hat-trick of goals by achieving economic and political stability, an investor-friendly atmosphere and a flourishing tourist industry that have attracted impressive volumes of foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows within just two years.

Pundits see President Hassan’s quietly confident leadership as only the beginning of a historic period of growth and prosperity in all social, political and economic sectors in Tanzania.

Her fellow African leaders and the world at large have their eyes on her, carefully observing how she is making this giant leap of change.

Many developing countries are watching and learning as Tanzanians continue to support the President’s development initiatives in infrastructure, water, education, health and energy sectors.

On the global stage, the aura and respect that Tanzania has commanded over the years is firmly back, thanks to President Hassan’s diplomatic charm offensive.