Dar es Salaam. Good morning! The Chanzo is here with a rundown of major news stories reported in Tanzania on Wednesday, March 27, 2024.
China-Tanzania investment forum kick-off in Dar
Over 200 Tanzanian and 100 Chinese companies convened at the Johari Rotana Hotel in Dar es Salaam for the annual investment forum organized by the Tanzania Investment Centre, alongside their Chinese counterparts, including the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), the Jinhua Municipal Committee, and the Chinese Enterprise Association of Tanzania.
Preceding the meeting was a business tour involving approximately 60 Chinese investors from China’s Jinhua province, led by CPC Secretary of the Jinhua Municipal Committee, Zhu Chonglie. The delegation toured the Coastal region to explore investment opportunities.
Speaking during the meeting the Chinese Ambassador to Tanzania, Ambassador Chen Mingjian said that investment from China to Tanzania has continued to increase.
“In 2023, the bilateral trade volume between China and Tanzania reached almost USD 8.8 Billion with Chinese investment in Tanzania increasing over 60 percent. Over a thousand delegations especially from provinces and cities of China have visited Tanzania within one year,” said Ambassador Chen Mingjian.
Reports from the Tanzania Investment Centre put China as the leading source of FDI in the last year amounting to USD 922 in the last half of 2023. However, there is a large trade gap between Tanzania and China; Data from the Tanzania Ministry of Finance shows while Tanzania exported China goods worth USD 3.1 Billion from 2013 to 2022, Tanzania imported goods of about USD 20 Billion from China in the same period.
The Vice President of Tanzania Philip Mpango invited Chinese investors to explore opportunities in the blue economy and Tanzania’s transition to clean cooking.
“I would like to see the value of trade between China and Tanzania increase from the current average of around USD 9 billion to at least USD 20 billion by 2030,” said Mpango.
Tanzania to develop a referral mechanism for the protection of vulnerable migrants
The Ministry of Community Development, Gender, Women, and Special Groups has facilitated a multi-stakeholder meeting aimed at developing a mechanism for safeguarding vulnerable migrants.
According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Guidance On Referral Mechanisms, vulnerable migrants include women, children, persons living with disabilities, trafficked persons, smuggled migrants, migrant workers, and refugees.
The meeting brought together officials from various ministries responsible for migrant affairs alongside representatives from the International Organization for Migration.
Addressing the gathering, Dr. Nandera Mhando, a Senior Official from the Ministry of Gender, emphasized the significance of the meeting in fostering future collaboration among stakeholders to deliver essential services to migrants.
“The meeting is important in ensuring future cooperation of stakeholders in providing services to migrants. Some of these vulnerable migrants are children who have entered the country illegally, children who were separated from their parents, and those who have crossed without parental supervision,” said Mhando.
Tanzania is currently home to approximately 242,942 refugees and asylum-seekers, with this number steadily rising due to instability in neighboring regions.
The US Department of State Trafficking in Persons Report 2023 categorizes Tanzania as a tier 2 country in terms of trafficking in persons. This means that Tanzania has not fully met the minimum standards for eliminating trafficking but is actively striving to do so.
The report specifically highlights the vulnerability of refugee populations in Tanzania to domestic servitude in western regions, with refugee children, particularly at risk of forced labor in agriculture and sex trafficking.
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