Tanzania’s Prime Minister, Kassim Majaliwa, who is currently on an official visit to Belarus, and his host, Belarusian Prime Minister Alexander Turchin, witnessed the signing of three memoranda of understanding (MoUs) and one cooperation agreement between ministers from both countries on July 22, 2025, in Minsk.
The signed documents focus on political consultations, development of the agriculture sector, and education cooperation. Additionally, the two leaders witnessed the signing of a partnership agreement between the Tanzania Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (TCCIA) and the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce, aimed at enhancing trade relations between the two nations.
Prime Minister Majaliwa is in Belarus for a three-day official visit. He left Tanzania on July 20, 2025, accompanied by senior government officials, including Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation, Cosato Chumi; Minister of State in the President’s Office of Zanzibar for Labour, Economy and Investment, Shariff Ali Shariff; and Tanzania’s Ambassador to Russia and Belarus, Frederick Kibuta.
During bilateral talks held at the Prime Minister’s Office on Sovetskaya Street in Minsk, Majaliwa told his counterpart that in addition to strengthening diplomatic relations, he hopes the visit will stimulate further cooperation between Belarus and Tanzania in areas such as investment, education, health, and the provision of modern agricultural tools, capitalizing on opportunities available in Tanzania.
Before the official talks, Prime Minister Majaliwa toured two major Belarusian facilities: Belmedpreparaty, a pharmaceutical factory, and the Minsk Tractor Plant, a manufacturer of modern agricultural machinery and tractors.
Recently, both countries have been making efforts to boost bilateral relations. In October 2024, Pavel Vziatkin, the Belarusian Ambassador to Tanzania based in Nairobi, Kenya, visited Tanzania and held bilateral discussions with Majaliwa in Dar es Salaam, focusing on strengthening ties between the two nations.
Earlier in January 2024, a Belarusian business delegation, including representatives from the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce, visited Tanzania and met with officials from the TCCIA. The delegation expressed keen interest in fostering partnerships with Tanzanian businesses.
Despite these developments, trade volumes between Tanzania and Belarus remain relatively low. Trade peaked in 2017, when Tanzania exported goods worth $46.6 million to Belarus and imported about $1.3 million in return. However, by 2021, the trade volume had declined significantly, with Tanzania exporting just $4.8 million and importing $4 million from Belarus.
