Trade Agreements Between Tanzania And India Were Established In Local Currency: Jaishankar

S. Jaishankar, the minister of external affairs, said on Saturday that trade settlements between Tanzania and India had begun in local currencies, adding that this new step would assist to advance trade between the two nations.

The minister claimed in a speech to business executives that commerce between India and Tanzania had increased significantly and reached USD 6.4 billion in 2022–2023.

“Keep in mind that this is not just a very significant bilateral commerce, but also a bilateral trade that is becoming more and more balanced. The trade basket is expanding significantly, and India continues to be Tanzania’s top export market, he said.

The potential of trade payments in our own currencies is another matter that has sometimes been raised, according to Jaishankar.

“And I want to let you know that the Indian central bank has approved of such a possibility,” she said. The three Indian banks present here may thus settle trades in the respective currencies.

He remarked, “I am informed that just a few transactions have already occurred in Tanzanian shillings and Indian rupees, and undoubtedly this will give an extra channel to enhance commerce between our two nations.

Tanzania is a market for Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, and Canara Bank.

The senior executives of banks and members of trade organisations were requested by the Reserve Bank of India and the Indian Finance Ministry to promote export and import transactions in rupees last year. To encourage cross-border trading in the rupee rather than the more common US dollar, they want banks in India to link with their international counterparts and create special rupee vostro accounts.

With Indian banks, exclusive vostro accounts have already been created by around 18 nations.

The minister said that commerce between India and Africa is worth USD 98 billion.

“India’s investments total USD 75 billion, and we expect both trade with Africa and investments in Africa to grow,” the official said. “I certainly, so agree with what you said, that is, that now that there is a pan-African larger continental free trade arrangement in the making, as it unfolds, I think it makes it easier to both trade with Africa and invest in Africa.”

Jaishankar further emphasized the need of regular business delegation exchanges to develop economic ties between the two nations.

He said that Tanzania had eight sizable exhibits in a variety of industries in 2022.

Jaishankar dedicated a bust of Swami Vivekananda earlier in the day at the Indian Cultural Center in Dar es Salaam.