Русский
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Tanzanian counterpart Mahmoud Thabit Kombo held talks in Moscow on Monday (February 9), focusing on trade and broader economic relations between the two countries.
The Russian Foreign Ministry stated that “The ministers discussed a wide range of issues related to the further strengthening of the traditionally friendly relations between Russia and Tanzania, with a special focus on expanding cooperation in trade, economic, and investment spheres.”
Both sides confirmed their intention to strengthen “constructive cooperation and coordinate efforts” on key global and regional matters through the UN and other multilateral platforms.
Lavrov and Kombo also emphasized the importance of advancing previously reached agreements in preparation for the next session of the Joint Intergovernmental Russian-Tanzanian Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation, scheduled for May 2026.
On February 10, Russian Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov also met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Tanzania and the Minister of East African Cooperation of Tanzania, Mahmoud Kombo.
“Tanzania is one of Russia’s important trading partners among African countries. In the first 11 months of 2025, the mutual trade turnover between the two countries increased by almost 20% due to increased supplies of fertilizers to Tanzania, as well as purchases of coffee,” said Maxim Reshetnikov.
In May 2025, summing up the results of the plenary meeting of the intergovernmental Russian-Tanzanian commission on trade and economic cooperation, Reshetnikov spoke about the ongoing efforts to diversify mutual trade relations and noted that Russian enterprises are interested in supplying livestock products to Tanzania. According to Reshetnikov, Russian business is also interested in the pharmaceutical market in Tanzania.
“We know that Tanzania is interested in establishing gas exports. Large Russian companies are ready for any kind of cooperation. We are talking about joint projects in the field of production and export of hydrocarbons and natural gas and the joint construction of a coal-fired thermal power plant,” the minister said.
Russia and Tanzania are discussing cooperation in the field of tourism. In particular, they are considering the prospects of resuming direct flights between the countries and the possibility of conducting a study tour to Tanzania for representatives of Russian business, media, and bloggers.
Russian travel companies are already cooperating with the Tanzania Tourism Authority, developing travel packages focused on national parks and Zanzibar.
Russia is one of the five largest suppliers of fertilizers to Tanzania. In addition, Tanzania imports aluminum and newsprint from Russia. Tanzania exports mainly agricultural products to Russia, including tobacco, coffee, and tea.
