Suluhu’s visit marks new dawn for Kenya-Tanzania relations
By Adhere Cavince
Tanzania President Samia Suluhu Hassan Thursday concluded her maiden two-day state visit to Kenya with a dramatic escalation as well as transformation of bilateral relations between Nairobi and Dodoma.
Suluhu who is also the first female president within the East African Community inked a deal with her host, President Uhuru Kenyatta, for the construction of a gas pipeline connecting the port cities of Mombasa and Dar-es- Salaam.
Effusing a new diplomatic mien uncharacteristic of her predecessor, President Suluhu disarmed many across Kenyan bureaucracy with her soft spoken and pragmatic approach to international affairs.
Her sense of urgency to better relations with Nairobi perhaps propelled President Kenyatta to dress down government officials seen to be inimical to better Kenya-Tanzania relations.
President Kenyatta paved the way for additional Tanzanian investors in Kenya; setting aside both visa and work-permit restrictions.
Only 30 Tanzanian enterprises are currently operational in Nairobi while Kenya’s investments in Tanzania are valued at $1.7 billion and providing direct employment to over 51, 000 locals.
This makes Kenya the biggest regional investor in Tanzania and fifth largest investor globally.
In recognition of Kenya’s role in her country’s economy, the Tanzanian leader pushed for more technology, knowhow and capital from Nairobi, a move she said would help Tanzania overcome poverty while promoting diversification and internationalization of the Kenyan economy.
President Suluhu’s visit could also see an end to the long queues of trucks at Kenya-Tanzania entry points due to cross-border barriers that have impeded trade, tourism and cultural integration in the two countries.
In focus will be how the two governments handle the fractious issue of Covid-19 pandemic.
Suluhu has clearly departed from the path of denial and skepticism beaten by late Tanzanian President John Pombe Maghufuli with regards to the global health crisis. A committee of health experts is currently examining how best Tanzania can eschew the vagaries of the disease that has devastated economies and decimated lives around the world.
Kenya and Tanzania share a rich history that is lined by strong cultural and geographical realities. As the only coastline nations with leading populations and landmass among the East African Community member states, Nairobi and Dodoma are critical anchors of the visibility and utility of the regional economic bloc. Cordial ties between the two countries are therefore a prerequisite both for their own sustainability and the greater good of the EAC.
President Suluhu brings to the table valuable idiosyncratic qualities that could prove vital to normalization and modernization of cooperation with neighbouring countries, within the region and continentally.
In her address to a joint sitting of Kenyan Parliament, the Tanzanian leader painted a vision of cooperation and solutions oriented diplomacy. Her joke about wildlife conceiving in Kenya and delivering in Tanzania was a good reminder to the Kenyan lawmakers on the intractable connection between the two countries.
For Kenya and Tanzania to deliver a truly new chapter in their relations, it is going to take hard work and unflinching commitment.
There are merchants of division from both countries who would rather perpetuate the existing antagonism rather than better relations. Such profiteers of chaos will be keen to derail the gains consolidated by the State visit.
Yet in cooperating, the two countries have amplified potential and opportunities to deliver better quality of life to the citizens. As the combined largest market within the EAC, Kenya – Tanzania synergy would be more attractive to foreign investors while unimpeded flow of capital, technology and human resources will strengthen the business environment and promote closer cultural exchanges between the two sides.
The ministerial teams from both sides should now get to work and deliver the much awaited better cooperative arrangements between Kenya and Tanzania. Those of us who believe in the power of multilateralism in provision of sustainable solutions to wide-ranging cross border challenges will cheer President Kenyatta and President Suluhu on as they embark on building renewed strategic and beneficial relations.
Twitter: @Cavinceworld
