On the momentous occasion of India's 79th Independence Day, I want to express my deep gratitude to all the Indian Nationals, Persons of Indian Origin, well-wishers and Friends of India in Tanzania.

On 26th January 1950, the Constitution of India came into force, securing justice, liberty and equality to all its citizens. Today, we Indians are proud to be citizens of the largest, most diverse and vibrant democracy in the world.

Independence Day reminds us of the sacrifices made by generations of Indians in our struggle for freedom to achieve independence in 1947. From humble beginnings, India today is a global force in technology, economy, democracy, and diplomacy. It is a matter of great pride that India is now the fourth-largest economy globally, with aspirations and a road map to become the third-largest by 2030.

India’s journey has been defined by inclusion, innovation, and impact. Over the last fifteen years, we have lifted over 415 million people from multi-dimensional poverty, demonstrating our commitment to inclusive development.

We are home to over 100 unicorns and rank third globally in start-up ecosystems. Our digital payment system (UPI) processes more than 11 billion transactions monthly, transforming lives across rural and urban India. Our space missions including Chandrayaan-3 and Aditya-L1 have placed us among the top space-faring nations. We are leading in clean energy with a target of 500 GW of non-fossil energy by 2030 and co-leading the International Solar Alliance. The Ayushman Bharat scheme provides health cover to over 500 million Indians, the world's most extensive government-run health protection program.

Honorable Prime Minister Narendra Modi has rightly said, “This is India’s time — not just to grow, but to lead.”

Our relations with Tanzaniaare among the strongest in Africa, shaped by shared history, solidarity, and growing cooperation. The strong bilateral relations between India and Tanzania was  further strengthened with the State Visit of H.E. Dr Samia Suluhu Hassan, President of the United Republic of Tanzania to India in October 2023. During the visit bilateral relations were elevated to “Strategic Partnership”.

The strong bond between India and Tanzania has been further strengthened by several Ministerial Level visits to India in the last one year. We were honored to host Hon’ble Dr. Doto Biteko, Deputy PM and Minister of Energy , Hon’ble Dr. Stergomena Lawrence Tax, Minister for Defence S National Service, Hon’ble Prof. Kabudi, Minister of Information, Culture, Arts and Sports, Hon’ble Dr. Pindi Chana, Minister of Tourism and Natural Resources, among several other ministerial delegations.

Our bilateral trade has witnessed a positive trend, with trade volumes reaching 8.6 billion in 2024-25. India is Tanzania's largest export destination, and Tanzania is India’s second-largest trade partner in Africa. This partnership highlights the successful efforts of both governments. According to TIC, India is among the 3 top investors in Tanzania with over 700 Indian projects registered with TIC. India is proud to be Tanzania's reliable development partner. We have committed over 1.1 billion US dollars in Lines of Credit mainly for water projects across Tanzania.

In April 2025, India and Tanzania co-hosted the inaugural Africa India Key Maritime Engagement (AIKEYME) in Dar es Salaam. Ten nations joined this exercise, demonstrating our shared commitment to a safe, secure, and open Indian Ocean Region under India’s MAHASAGAR vision. H.E. Mr Sanjay Seth, Indian Deputy Minister of Defence visited Tanzania during the event. Additionally, the 3rd Bharat Defence Expo was held in Dar es Salaam in April, in which Indian defense companies showcased India’s capabilities and strengthened our defense partnership.

We continue to share our expertise with Tanzanian brothers and sisters. India offers 1000 ITEC and 85 ICCR scholarships annually to Tanzania nationals free of cost on full Government of India sponsorship. Further, the High Commission of India extensively engages with Tanzanian youth. Under the “Karibu Tanzanian Youth” program we host 30 students from different schools each month for interactions. We also organized a painting competition, “Tanzania on Canvas,” in collaboration with 10 leading Tanzanian schools.

Regular engagement with different regions of Tanzania took us to other cities, including Moshi, Arusha, Mbeya, Mtwara, Iringa, Tanga, and Morogoro, where we organized consular camps and business meets during the year. The High Commission has also actively promoted discussions on Artificial Intelligence in Tanzania by facilitating a talk by Prof. Raghunathan Rengaswamy of IIT Madras with Honorable Tanzanian MP's in Parliament, a talk for diplomatic colleagues from African nations, and a talk on AI and Business for CEO’s in collaboration with CEO RT.

In our efforts to deepen people-to-people ties and promote cultural exchange, the High Commission launched the flagship campaign #YogaAcrossTanzania, in which 10 yoga events were conducted across different regions of Tanzania. The grand celebration of the 11th International Day of Yoga on June 21 saw over 1,600 yoga enthusiasts assemble to do yoga in Gymkhana grounds in Dar es salaam. I see many participating friends present here.

The Indian diaspora’s contributions to the Tanzanian economy and society are immense. They are our cultural and economic ambassadors, and their efforts continue to build bridges of trust and goodwill between our two nations. In January this year, Dr. Kaushik Laxmidas Ramaiya, CEO and Consultant Physician at Shree Hindu Mandal Hospital, was awarded the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award, the highest award given to Indian Diaspora members.

As we mark 79 years of freedom, we look to the future with confidence and optimism. We are determined to deepen our friendship with Tanzania, build stronger partnerships across Africa, and uphold our shared peace, cooperation, and development values.