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Tanzania Outperforms Other EAC Countries in Investor Attraction



By Special Correspondent, Nairobi.

A MERE three years into his 5-year term, the President of the United Republic of Tanzania (popular simply as ‘Tanzania’), Dr. John Pombe Magufuli , has already laid a firm foundation for economic ties with partners-in-development of high potential surpassing other regional members.

Two of those recent bilateral development partners are the Russian Federation (‘Russia’) and the State of Qatar (‘Qatar’). At a time his main counterparts Museven of Uganda is busy with Bobby Wine and Kenyatta of Kenya takes on his Deputy Ruto in one of the hottest political battles, nn March 13, 2019, President Magufuli held discussions at State House with top Russina and Qatar diplomats to attract more investment inflow.

On meeting Magufuli in Dar es Slaam recently, Mickhail Bogdanov – who is the Russian Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister –praised the Magufuli Administration for the Big Gains made in a relatively short period, and reiterated Russia’s commitment to continued cooperation with Tanzania.

Indeed, the envoy revealed that Tanzania and Russia are working on a Joint Permanent Commission on bilateral trade, investments and other economy-related issues, including the use of arising opportunities in both countries to mutually benefit their peoples.

In more-or-less similar vein, Qatar and Tanzania formally pledged closer mutual cooperation involving investments in the latter’s phenomenally potential natural gas, mining, tourism and infrastructural sectors of the Economy.

This was revealed in a meeting at the Dar es Salaam State House on March 21 this year between President Magufuli and Qatari Deputy Prime Minister-cum- Foreign Affairs Minister, His Excellency Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani.

To that end, Dr. Magufuli assured Qatar of Tanzania's determination to work closely with foreign investors as a matter of course.

"Tanzania has abundant opportunities for investments in gas, mining, tourism, air transport," said President Magufuli, cordially inviting Qatari investors to do business in those areas.

Acknowledging that "Qatar has vast experience in natural gas processing,” Dr. Magufuli said “we (in Tanzania) have enough recoverable gas reserves (more than 57trn cubic feet), and we invite prospective Qatar investors to invest in this (sub) sector." 

For his part, the Qatari Deputy Premier assured President Magufuli on the spot that his country would bring investors to the east African nation that’s widely acknowledged for its political stability and the sanguinity of its citizenry.

With countries like Russia and Qatar today knocking on Tanzania’s Investments Door, what’s to stop us from rushing to open the door wide for them, pray?

Home to a population of some 148mn souls, Russia’s nominal Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is US$1.649trn – the world’s 12th largest – and US$11,461 in per capita GDP: the world’s 61st highest.

Russia’s Economy has oil, natural gas, metals and timber accounting for more than 80% of exports – with the oil-and-gas sub-sector accounting for 16% of GDP, 52% of Federal budget revenues, and over 80% of total exports.

For its part, Qatar boasts a nominal GDP of about US$183.807bn – and US$66,202 GDP per capita for a population of some 2.7mn souls: the world’s 4th highest per capita.

Qatar’s relatively phenomenal socio-economic development has almost exclusively been based on its petroleum and natural gas industries, beginning in earnest in 1940.

Unquestionably, Qatar is the world’s leading exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG) – a position it’s likely to hold onto after deciding in year-2012 to invest over US$120bn in the energy sector alone in the next decade! 

Interestingly-enough is the fact that, although the country joined the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in 1961, it left the Organization in January 2019. 

According to Energy Affairs Minister Saad Sherida al-Kaabi – who is also the ‘Qatar Petroleum’ CEO – Qatar's exit from OPEC "wasn’t political; it was purely a business decision for Qatar's future strategy for the energy sector."

Well, well, well... Is it ‘Goodbye OPEC, welcome Tanzania’ for Qatar, too?

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