On Wednesday, October 9, 2024, Tanzania and Finland signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for annual political consultations aimed at strengthening bilateral relations. This took place during the visit of Tanzania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation, Ambassador Mahmoud Thabit Kombo, to Finland, where he was hosted by Finland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Elina Valtonen.
The two ministers co-chaired the second political consultation between the two countries, following the first round held in Tanzania on December 14, 2023. That initial meeting was co-chaired by Tanzania’s then-Minister of Foreign Affairs, January Makamba, and Finland’s Vice Minister, Under-Secretary of State for International Development, Pasi Hellman.
During his visit, Ambassador Kombo also paid a courtesy call to Finland’s President, Alexander Stubb, at the presidential residence in Helsinki on October 10, 2024.
Key areas of engagement
Tanzania and Finland have enjoyed diplomatic relations since 1963 when Tanganyika first established ties with Finland as one of the Nordic countries visited by the Tanzanian leadership. Official diplomatic relation was established on June 14, 1965, and the two countries maintained friendly relations since then. Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari, a Nobel Peace Prize winner and former ambassador to Tanzania, was a personal friend of Tanzania’s founding president, Julius Nyerere.
Some of the key areas of cooperation discussed during the recent engagement between Tanzania and Finland include forestry, mining, and Information and Communication Technology (ICT).
Over 70 percent of Finland’s land, approximately 22.5 million hectares, is covered by forests. Finland has a highly developed forestry sector, and the country is keen to collaborate with Tanzania, which has about 48 million hectares of forest, covering 55 percent of its land area.
Unlike Finland, which experiences harsh winters, Tanzania’s favorable year-round climate allows for continuous forestry activities, making it an attractive partner for Finnish investment. This collaboration also offers opportunities for Tanzania to learn from Finland’s experience in combating deforestation.
ICT is another area of strong collaboration between the two countries. Nokia, one of the world’s leading telecommunications firms, has been operating in Tanzania for more than two decades. In addition to consumer products, Nokia provides critical infrastructure support to Tanzanian communication companies.
On September 12, 2024, Tanzania’s Minister of Information, Communication, and Information Technology, Jerry Slaa, met with Finland’s Ambassador to Tanzania, Theresa Zitting, and Deputy Head of Mission, Tomi Lounio, to discuss key areas of collaboration in the digital economy and Artificial Intelligence (AI). Slaa later visited Finland, where he met with Finnish Minister of Transport and Communications, Lulu Ranne, and toured Nokia and Aalto University.
According to the European Union’s Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) 2022, Finland is the leading EU country in digital skills and has the second-largest proportion of ICT specialists in its labor force. Finland is also a global leader in the adoption of digital technologies in both the private and public sectors.
With companies like Elisa and Nokia spearheading research and development in 5G and 6G technologies, Finland is at the forefront of global ICT innovation.
This positions Finland as a key partner for Tanzania, as the country has been enhancing its ICT sector by strengthening its human resources and technological capacity. Flagship projects include the World Bank-supported Digital Tanzania project and several initiatives under the e-government authority
Mining is another area of interest. Finland is known for producing essential machinery used in the mining sector, Tanzania has been pushing to attract investors in its mining sector from diverse backgrounds beyond the usual investors from the US, China, and the UK.
Regional and geopolitical issues specifically the Russia invasion of Ukraine are some of the areas that the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland reported were on the agenda. Tanzania has maintained good relations with both the European Union and Russia. The country has maintained its non-aligned position, advocating for dialogue as the primary means to resolve the situation.
