Kikwete, Jinping set to talk about TAZARA revamp

Chinese President Xi Jinping

President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete and and the Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet to discuss the main challenges facing Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (Tazara) and how the Uhuru railway can be improved.

 

This was said by Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation Bernard Membe during the  Chinese New Year celebrations dubbed “Focus on Africa, Chinese New Year in Tanzania” that were held at Mnazi Mmoja Grounds in Dar es Salaam.

 

The decision to revamp the rail was made last year between the Tanzanian President and his Chinese counterpart during the former’s visit to China at the official invitation of the latter.

 

The main focus on their discussion during the visit was just to improve the railway infrastructure in the African continent and Tanzania in particular.

 

“China has decided to support us in the this long time project because they are our best friends and the diplomatic relations between China and Tanzania for the past half century have been going on smoothly,” Membe said.

“As Tanzania we express thanks to China for showing interest to support us in this project. The railway offers a great support to the economic development of Tanzania and Zambia. Besides, it has played a key role in the anti-imperialism and anti-colonial struggles in the Sub-Saharan African countries. More it has built the effective friendship between China and Tanzania and China and Africa,” he said.

 

Elaborating on sport, he said, “China is our best friend because through Chinese TV one can watch various sports and films and this promotes the good relationships that we have.”

 

He also expressed thanks to the Chinese government for supporting Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea in the fight against the Ebola virus.

According to him, China was the first country to respond to the WHO appeals to provide Ebola relief to the tune of worth 30 million yuan and sending medical teams to the three most seriously affected countries.

 

For his part, the Chinese Ambassador to Tanzania Lu Youqing added that development between Tanzania and China need cooperation among the two countries.

 

He said China–Tanzania co-operation could be found or build in every sector in Tanzania and that such cooperation can leads to huge achievement to the East African nation and even other African countries.

 

“The visit by President Kikwete to China and President Xi Jinping to Tanzania has brought our bilateral relations to higher level,” he said.

The Tazara links the Tanzanian port of Dar es salaam with the town of Kapiri Mposhi in Zambia’s Central Province in a more than 1800km stretch.