Tanzania has reaffirmed its commitment to continue working closely with the government of the Kingdom of Spain in nurturing and strengthening bilateral relations for the mutual benefit of the two countries.
Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism Ambassador Dr Pindi Chana expressed the government commitment on Thursday in Dar es Salaam when she attended the National Day of the Kingdom of Spain.
"Let me reaffirm the commitment of the government of the United Republic of Tanzania to working closely with the government of the Kingdom of Spain in nurturing and strengthening our bilateral relations for the mutual benefit of our two countries and peoples," she said.
According to her, Tanzania appreciates the enduring assistance that Spain has been providing in various sectors such as water and health, rural electrification and agribusinesses.
She said Tanzania is also cognisant and appreciative of Spain to include Tanzania as one of the African countries to benefit from the special policy for African countries launched in March 2019.
She reiterated Tanzania's call for increased trade and investment with Spain citing that in 2021 the trade volume between Tanzania and Spain was only 183.3bn/- and that the trade ties between the two countries have not been as robust as they should be.
She appreciated the continued visit by Spanish tourists to Tanzania despite being affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
"The pandemic led to a decrease of Spanish tourists visiting Tanzania from 18,838 in 2019 to 13,150 in 2021," she said, encouraging more Spanish tourists to keep visiting the attractive tourism destinations available in Tanzania.
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Earlier, the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Spain to Tanzania, Jorge Moragas Sánchez said Spain is eager to work with the Tanzanian government in the areas of development for the mutual benefits of two countries.
He said Spain is working with the World Bank in the project of rehabilitation of Msimbazi River crossing Dar es Salaam to make infrastructure mobility easy for Tanzanians.
The rehabilitation of Msimbazi River will help reduce the flood exposure of over 300,000 people, including many low-income communities, while providing access to better infrastructure and services.
It will also help transform a flood prone area in the centre of the city into a vibrant green space and commercial and residential area that will benefit all residents of Dar es Salaam.
Additionally, users of the city's Bus Rapid Transit system and other commuters will benefit from fewer traffic disruptions from floods during the rainy season through the implementation of the new Msimbazi Basin Development Project.
