Manfredo Fanti, EU ambassador to Tanzania, told journalists yesterday in Dar es Salaam that the forum is jointly organised by the government, the EU country mission and the East African Community (EAC) Secretariat.
The high-level event is scheduled for February 23 and 24 in Dar es Salaam, with President Samia Suluhu Hassan gracing the opening event with a keynote speech, and later closed by Zanzibar President Dr Hussein Ali Mwinyi.
He said the forum is a result of President Samia’s visits in Europe where she met various investors, traders and stakeholders, encouraging them to invest in Tanzania. The EU is satisfied with various measures taken by the government including ensuring a friendly environment for investors, he stated.
EU firms now see more opportunities and the importance of investing in Tanzania, he said, noting that the planned event is meant to present Tanzania’s opportunities and comparative advantage as a strategic destination for direct investments .
The high-level event will bring investors from EU member states, interested in energy transition, agriculture, manufacturing, logistics, digital connectivity and construction, he stated.
“More than 400 distinguished business and investment stakeholders are expected from Europe, including high-level leaders and prominent companies, and will join with over 200 participants from Tanzania Mainland and Zanzibar,” he elaborated.
The event will also provide a platform for dialogue between regulatory agencies and private firms on how to further improve the business environment, notably the regulatory framework and facilitate business-to-business (B2B) transactions and networking.
This would enhance possibilities of partnerships between local and EU firms, he stated, noting that the forum will offer tools for private sector development, enabling them to access finance and skills development from EU financing institutions.
Cedric Merel, the head of cooperation for the EU delegation in Tanzania, said they have witnessed great progress in various sectors where a number of policy and legal reforms were conducted.
Tanzania’s economy is growing rapidly while giving priority to youth and women where the EU is interested to support these efforts, he stated.
Maftah Bunini, the planning, research and information technology director at the Tanzania Investment Centre (TIC) urged local investors and business people to participate in the meeting. The forum will help them improve their projects or access potential partnerships, he said.
“This forum offers Tanzania a great opportunity to welcome new European investments, technology and expertise in the country and is part of current efforts to attract businesses and investments from across the world to key sectors such as renewable energy, mining critical minerals, sustainable agriculture and trade,” he declared.
To ensure the success of the forum, the EU and the government have engaged multiple stakeholders from the private sector in Tanzania and Europe, financial institutions and other experts.
They will showcase Tanzania’s opportunities in various areas, facilitate discussions among business peers, government officials and political leaders with a view to catalyse new partnerships, he further affirmed.
An EU investment report last year said the European Union is a major trade and investment partner for Tanzania with a total trade volume of euros 856m in exports from the EU to Tanzania and euro 456m in imports from Tanzania to the EU in 2021.
Investment inflows from the ten most active EU member States was $1.5bn from 2013 to 2020, he said, noting that its contribution to the Tanzanian economy was substantial.
It is estimated that EU companies currently provide 151,000 jobs, of which 38 percent are women while the largest companies alone paid $1.45bn in taxes from 2015 to 2021, he added.
