Europe’s strongest is working towards strengthening trade and related investor interactions with a visit to four African key countries by President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and other top German leaders.
The future prospects of trade relations between Tanzania and Germany were discussed during the visit to the country by Steinmeier.
He will spend three days in Tanzania – a former German colony – before departing for its landlocked neighbour, Zambia.
At the same time, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz left for similar meetings in Nigeria where he is seeking to secure natural gas interests, reports Deutsche Welle.
This is his third visit to Africa since taking office about two years ago and Scholz he will also visit Ghana.
According to a statement issued by the Tanzanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation's Communication Unit, Steinmeier’s delegation will include other government leaders and representatives of 12 large companies.
Steinmeier held official talks with his Tanzanian counterpart, Dr Samia Suluhu Hassan at State House in Dar es Salaam.
Both presidents will participate in a business forum jointly organised by the German Embassy and Tanzania Investment Centre (TIC) in the port city.
It will involve business and investors from the two countries.
It is unclear whether Scholz will attend the forum as part of his African visit.
When Steinmeier meets with representatives of the German and Tanzanian business communities, the focus will be on economic prospects and trade, a statement said.
"Tanzania and Germany have good diplomatic relations that have lasted for more than 60 years.
“These two countries have been collaborating on various strategic sectors, especially in trade and investment, water, health, gender equality, women's empowerment, biodiversity conservation, finance management, tourism, heritage and culture," the Tanzanian ministry said.
According to the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) and the Tanzania Investment Centre (TIC), the country has exported more than $42 million of goods to Germany per year, including coffee, tobacco, cotton, honey, fish, wax and precious stones.
Tanzania imports from Germany amount to more than $237m for medicines, medical devices, oils (perfume and cosmetics), vehicles, appliances and electrical machines.
According to the TIC, Germany is among the ten leading countries for investment in Tanzania.
In August 2023, 178 German projects worth $408.11m were registered, which generated about 16 121 employment opportunities.
The Zanzibar Investment Promotion Authority (ZIPA) has registered 15 projects worth $300m, which have generated 905 employment opportunities.
The statement noted that German companies' investments in the country are mostly involved in agriculture, industry, renewable energy, construction, tourism, arts and culture.
Steinmeier's trip to Tanzania comes as no surprise, says Maren Diale-Schellschmidt, head of the German Chamber of Foreign Trade in neighbouring Kenya.
"The investment framework for German companies has improved significantly in the two years since President Hassan has been in power," she told Deutsche Welle.
According to Diale-Schellschmidt, Tanzania is catching up on infrastructure, energy and environmental technology – a sector that is of particular interest to Germany.
German companies are looking beyond northern and southern Africa and opening more and more new locations in the west and east of the continent, she said.
