New agreement to enable remote goods clearance from Tanzania for Rwandan traders

Representatives from Tanzania and Rwanda signed an agreement (MoU) on July 26 to open a contact office for the Tanzania Ports Authority in Kigali. This will help trade between the two countries, according to officials.

Buyers and sellers from Rwanda will be able to clear their goods at this office instead of having to go to Tanzanian ports, mostly Dar es Salaam.

Additionally, the two countries made a second agreement to work together on agriculture. Both agreements were signed in Kigali on July 26 at the 16th Joint Permanent Commission ministerial session between Rwanda and Tanzania.

Rwanda and Tanzania are still committed to growing their trade and business ties, according to Olivier Nduhungirehe, the foreign affairs minister of Tanzania.

According to him, there was still a lot of untapped promise on both sides.

Adding that they value their partnership with Tanzania because more than 70% of their maritime cargo goes through the Port of Dar es Salaam, he said that the MoU to open a Tanzania Ports Authority liaison office in Kigali “will streamline logistics, reduce bottlenecks, and improve trade efficiency between our two countries.”

“Tanzania’s help and important infrastructure are appreciated.” “The signing of an MoU for the official opening of the Tanzania Ports Authority liaison office in Kigali is another step toward improving our trade relations,” he said.

Tanzania is Rwanda’s second biggest importer, representing 15% of all imports on average over the past three years, Nduhungirehe said. There is a lot of rice that Rwanda buys from Tanzania, according to the Ministry of Trade and Industry.

Rwanda imported goods worth $727 million (a little more than Rwf1 trillion) in 2024, down 13.9% from $844 million in 2023, according to figures from the Ministry of Trade and Industry.

Tanzania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation, Mahmoud Thabit Kombo, said that both countries agreed to encourage investment. This is because Tanzania’s main trade and transit partner is Rwanda.

Because 70% of the goods that Rwanda buys come from Tanzania, he said, “Rwanda is a very important partner to Tanzania.”