New Delhi, June 18 (IANS) Citing a galore of benefits and ease of doing business, Tanzanian President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete on Thursday invited Indian investors to invest his country.
Attending an interactive session with businessmen here organised by the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), he said although the present investment scenario between his country and India is good, there is a scope for improvement.
“India is number six in the top 10 investors in Tanzania, but can easily become number one,” he said.
Kikwete said his east African country offers sound economic policies, political stability, friendly business environment, a good fiscal regime and an excellent geographical location as it shared international border with eight counties.
He said the African economic communities – Common Market for East and Southern Africa (COMESA), East African Community (EAC) and South African Development Community (SADC) have recently signed an agreement to form a large Free Trade Area (FTA) from Alexandria to Cape Town, which will help open up a market of 600 million people with a combined GDP of $1 trillion to investors.
The Tanzanian president urged Indian companies to explore, expand and invest in sectors like agriculture, manufacturing, infrastructure, healthcare, tourism, ICT, mining and oil and gas.
Apart from these sectors of interest, Kikwete also spoke about opportunities to invest in African logistics hubs like the port of Dar es-Salaam, which is also the Tanzanian capital.
India and Tanzania have preferential arrangements in place such as the Double Taxation Avoidance agreement.