Tanzania President Samia Suluhu Hassan is scheduled to arrive in the Turkish capital of Ankara as she begins a five-day state visit.
She will be the first Tanzanian leader to visit Turkey in 14 years, following an invitation from her Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a statement from the Tanzania Foreign Minister, January Makamba said.
While in Turkey, President Samia will attend a business and investment conference in Istanbul, aimed at expanding the scope of investment and markets for Tanzanian agricultural products as well as improving the trade balance between both countries.
Tanzania has a negative balance of trade with Turkey.
However, Makamba says that Turkey remains a “key source of Foreign Direct Investment,” highlighting its increasing influence on the Tanzanian economy since President Erdogan made a state visit to the country seven years ago.
Turkey is heavily involved in the Tanzanian real estate industry. Turkish company Yapi Markeci secured a $5 billion contract for the construction of a standard guage railway project, making it one of the most significant deals for a Turkish company in Africa.
President Samia is also expected to hold several meetings with Turkish business leaders as she seeks more investment in Tanzania.
The Foreign Minister also added that the President Samia will also observe the signing of various agreements including in areas of education technology, document storage, science and innovation.
”Turkey is an important market for southern Europe and western Asia with considerable technological capacity from which Tanzania can learn”, he stated.