The agreements were announced on Friday during the third meeting of the Russia-Tanzania Joint Intergovernmental Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation in the northern Tanzanian city of Arusha.
Tanzania’s Minister of State in the President’s Office for Planning and Investment, Kitila Mkumbo, said the two countries had agreed to pursue at least 22 legal cooperation frameworks, several of which have already been signed.
The agreements cover 12 sectors, including health, agriculture, energy, tourism, science and technology, transport and logistics, as well as cultural and language cooperation.
Among the cultural agreements, Tanzania and Russia will introduce language exchange programmes under which Swahili will be taught at Russian universities and educational institutions, while Russian language studies will be expanded in Tanzanian institutions.
“This is one of the important cultural areas of cooperation between our two countries,” Mkumbo said.
He added that Tanzania’s Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences had also signed cooperation deals with two Russian institutions focused on healthcare services and pharmaceutical production.
Additional agreements are expected to be signed in Moscow during an official visit by Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan next month, Mkumbo said.
Agriculture emerged as a key pillar of the expanding partnership, with both sides pledging closer collaboration on fertiliser use, crop processing and value addition aimed at boosting Tanzania’s agricultural exports.
“Our cooperation in agriculture will focus on increasing productivity and ensuring Tanzanian agricultural products are exported after value addition,” Mkumbo said.
The two countries also agreed to deepen cooperation in the energy sector, particularly in natural gas exploration, extraction and processing through partnerships involving the Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation and Russian firms.
Tanzania relies heavily on natural gas for electricity generation, with officials estimating that gas accounts for nearly 60% of the country’s power supply.
Mkumbo said Tanzania and Russia would continue cooperation in nuclear energy development over the next decade, including through the Mantra uranium project, as Tanzania explores options to diversify its future energy mix.
Russia has expanded its influence across Africa in recent years through energy, mining, defence and infrastructure partnerships, while Tanzania has increasingly sought foreign investment to support industrialisation and large-scale infrastructure projects.
Education cooperation also featured prominently in the discussions. Mkumbo said Russia had provided more than 20,000 scholarships to Tanzanians over the years, helping train professionals in sectors including medicine, agriculture and education.
Tourism and aviation were also identified as strategic growth areas. Tanzania and Russia are finalising talks that would allow Air Tanzania Company Limited to launch direct flights from Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar to Moscow before the end of the year.
Officials said the route is expected to increase the number of Russian tourists visiting Tanzania, home to attractions including Serengeti National Park and Mount Kilimanjaro.
In transport and logistics, Russian companies have expressed interest in investing in Tanzanian port expansion and related infrastructure projects, Mkumbo said, adding that discussions with the Tanzania Ports Authority were ongoing.
Russia’s Minister for Economic Development, Maxim Reshetnikov, said Moscow was ready to broaden cooperation with Tanzania across several sectors, including agriculture, transport, logistics and industrial development.
“Our companies are ready to invest in these sectors,” Reshetnikov said, adding that Russia was prepared to supply fertilisers, agricultural technologies, veterinary medicines and support livestock and seed breeding programmes aimed at raising productivity and strengthening Tanzania’s export capacity.
Notes to Editors
– Tanzania and Russia signed multiple cooperation agreements during the third session of the Russia-Tanzania Joint Intergovernmental Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation held in Arusha.
– The agreements span 12 sectors, including energy, agriculture, health, education, transport, tourism, science and technology, logistics and cultural cooperation.
– Tanzanian officials said the two countries are pursuing at least 22 legal cooperation frameworks, with additional agreements expected during President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s planned visit to Moscow.
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