By Lake Zone Watch Writer
Tanzania and the Republic of Guinea Bissau have begun in earnest forging new areas of development cooperation and friendly relations tracing the foundation laid by the founding fathers of both countries, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere and Amilcar Cabral, respectively.
Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan has hosted her Guinea Bissau counterpart, Umaro Sissoco Embalo, who is the first president of the West African state to visit Tanzania since it achieved its independence in September 10, 1974.
Mwalimu Nyerere and Cabral were Africa’s foremost anti-colonial leaders who led the storm against foreign domination that lashed the continent in the early 1960s and 1970s.
Both Tanzania and Guinea Bissau have undergone a transition from a stable and being one-party system to an equally stable, open and democratic multi-party system in an inexorable manner without civil strife, rancour or ruling party manipulation.
It is against this peaceful political environment that the two countries signed a General Framework Agreement to consolidate their cordial relations, according to a statement released by the State House in Dar es Salaam.
Analysts see President Embalo’s working tour in Tanzania as a prelude of attracting his country’s investors to discover the potentiality of the East African nation as a better investment destination, and to learn how Tanzania manages its abundant natural resources.
With a population of more than two million people, Guinea Bissau is globally known for its national parks and wildlife as Tanzania is also known for its exciting tourist attractions that range from the towering snow-capped Mount Kilimanjaro and, the breath-taking Ngorongoro Crater and the national parks and game reserves spread across the country.
Cooperation between the two countries will basically hinge on the socio-economic fields such as health and agriculture. Guinea Bissau like Tanzania is famed for cashew nut production, a crop which has a lucrative market in Asian countries, India and Vietnam in particular.
President Embalo says Guinea Bisssau is ready to incorporate the teaching of Kiswahil language in its curriculum since it is one of the three widely spoken official languages in Africa after English and French.