Kenya, Tanzania pledges to strengthen diplomatic relation
Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu has reaffirmed her administration’s readiness and willingness to collaborate closely with Kenya in order to strengthen both countries’ trade ties and mutual interests.
Suluhu and Kenya’s Sports Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohammed, who had been sent by President Uhuru Kenyatta, gave this assurance during a meeting on Saturday.
“President Suluhu has committed to continue with what the late President John Magufuli started that of ensuring that both nations relate harmoniously,” Tanzania’s Chief Spokesperson Gerson Msigwa said in a statement.
At the same time, Suluhu directed the Joint Permanent Commission (JPC) between the two countries to meet and come up with plans that can strengthen the relationship.
In his message, Uhuru assured Suluhu that Kenya is ready for a bilateral talk that will strengthen the bond between them.
Uhuru has also invited Suluhu to make her first visit to Kenya as the president.
CS Amina and Kenyan Ambassador to Tanzania Dan Kazungu were received by President Suluhu at the State House in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Tanzania and Kenya have had months of strained relations marked by border closures, especially during the Covid-19 lockdown.
On August 1,2020, Tanzania banned Kenya’s national airline from entering the country in the latest move in a deepening row triggered by Tanzania’s controversial handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
The diplomatic spat between the two countries erupted when Kenya blocked Tanzanian truck drivers from entering the country, fearing they would spread the disease.
The late President John Magufuli’s refusal to impose lockdowns or social distancing measures, and to halt the release of figures on infections since late April,2020 made him a regional outlier and caused concern among Tanzania’s neighbours and the World Health Organization.
He declared Tanzania free of coronavirus in June,202, thanking God and the prayers of citizens for the disease’s defeat disease.
