TANZANIA and Turkey have signed six memorandums of understanding (MoUs) focusing notably on education, economic diplomacy and cultural cooperation.

A State House statement yesterday said that the event was held on Thursday evening at the Ankara presidential complex, witnessed by the visiting President Samia Suluhu Hassan and host President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, helping to strengthen bilateral ties and reinforcing development efforts.

The agreed MoUs were signed before a state reception on Thursday, after President Samia was awarded an honorary doctorate citation in Economics by the University of Ankara.

At a joint press conference, Samia described Türkiye as a valued partner to Tanzania and Erdoğan said Tanzania is an important partner in East Africa,

“Going forward we have agreed that our ministers and teams of experts meet and come up with a framework that can be used to strategize on the implementation of the agreed areas of cooperation,” the visiting leader noted.

The two presidents also had a moment to discuss the ongoing crisis in Gaza, where President Erdoğan emphasized the need to step up efforts to stop the killings, the statement indicated.

“An immediate and lasting ceasefire must be achieved as soon as possible, and then the world straightaway takes steps to realize the two-state solution,” he declared.

President Samia commended Türkiye’s role in seeking a pacific settlement of the dispute, repeating the country’s appeal for an immediate cessation of hostilities in Palestine and hindering access to humanitarian aid for the people of Gaza.

President Erdoğan visited Tanzania in 2017, cementing trade and investment ties, with Türkiye investments in Tanzania estimated at $414m, with 6,062 direct jobs created.

The value of Turkish exports to Tanzania has surged from $144m in 2013 to $253m in 2021, ranking Tanzania at number 11 among importers of Turkish goods, while Tanzanian exports to Turkey stand at about $15m annually.

Turkey has significantly contributed to construction projects in Tanzania, with Yapi Merkezi Inc. securing contracts valued at $5bn for the standard gauge railway project, the biggest Turkish run project in Africa.

Turkish firms have also secured several contracts in shipping and road construction, likely to be boosted further, with President Samia participating in the Türkiye-Tanzania Business Forum in Istanbul to entice more Turkish businesses to invest in Tanzania.

President Samia arrived in Ankara on Wednesday on a five day state visit ending today.