BRITAIN has reaffirmed its commitment to international development and its strong partnership with Tanzania, despite the US-led mood shift of abandoning development support.

Marianne Young, the resident UK high commissioner, made this affirmation when visiting editorial offices of IPP media outlets in Dar es Salaam yesterday.

While the US reviews its aid strategy the United Kingdom remains dedicated to promoting international development and humanitarian initiatives, she said, citing supporting Tanzania as a vital aspect of this quest.

"The aid reduction is a matter for the US government,” she said, discounting chances of the UK authorities adopting that mood.

International development and humanitarian efforts are part of a vital partnership, not just with Tanzania but also with the region, she stated.

"A lot of this is still under review, and there are ongoing legal challenges. We're waiting to see how everything develops," she remarked in relation to the US policy shift.

New opportunities for trade and investment are opening up as UK-Tanzania trade is projected to be boosted by 100m pounds (more than 270bn/-) in the coming years, she said, noting that this development will push investment flows to the country.

“There are already positive results. We’re focusing on sectors like energy, hydropower, forestry and telecoms for investment growth,” she elaborated.

A delegation from the London Stock Exchange (LSE) will be making a visit here soon, to forge links with the DSE, providing local investors with communication access to key portfolio executives in London.

This will help create opportunities for fund raising and international partnerships to help scale their operations, citing needs not just of investors at DSE but even in health, forestry and other sectors.

This initiative supports British investors in Tanzania while helping Tanzanian firms to enhance access to global finance, she said.

Tanzania benefits from the UK developing country trading scale initiative, as local exporters have zero tariff and duty-free access to UK markets, she said.

“We’re thrilled that Tanzania is a beneficiary of this scheme, designed to make the UK market more accessible to Tanzanian exporters,” she specified, praising Mbelwa Kariuki, Tanzania’s UK envoy, for his active role in helping Tanzanian exporters access the UK market.