DODOMA, Jan 16 (NNN-DAILYNEWS) — PRESIDENT Samia Suluhu Hassan has declared that Tanzania remains a “friend to all and non-aligned but multi-engaged,” positioning the nation as a strategic bridge between the Global West and the Global East.
Speaking to Heads of Diplomatic Missions and International Organisations during the annual Diplomatic Sherry Party held at Chamwino State House in Dodoma, President Samia said Tanzania is committed to sovereign pragmatism and partnerships that respect national autonomy, while delivering mutual prosperity.
“We are non-aligned but multiengaged, bridging the Global West’s concessional support or the Global East’s infrastructure support. We will seek sovereign pragmatism and engage in partnerships that respect our autonomy, while delivering mutual prosperity,” she said.
She said Tanzania is focusing on its future, noting that the country seeks trade rather than aid, technology transfer rather than technical assistance, and deeper collaboration with both public and private partners.
“We welcome collaboration in de-risking projects through development finance institutions, export credit, blended finance, and risk insurance. We encourage deeper private-sector linkages, and stronger people-to-people ties through education, skills partnerships and cultural cooperation,” she said.
President Samia urged the diplomatic community to look beyond recent headlines and see the structural reforms underway in Tanzania, saying the country has learned from its past and is focusing on its future.
“Our doors are open, our policy is clear, and our resolve is firm. Let us move from dialogue to delivery, and from shared intent to shared impact. Let us build together for global prosperity,” she said.
She said they were meeting at a time when the global architecture of cooperation is under strain, with growing unilateralism threatening institutions that have maintained global peace for decades.
“Tanzania’s response to this trend is clear, multilateralism is not optional; it is essential,” she said, adding that Tanzania’s commitment to regionalism and multilateralism remains unshaken.
She said that in 2025 Tanzania utilised every multilateral platform to advocate for a more equitable global financial architecture, refused to be mere spectators in debates affecting its sovereignty, and used its voice to urge global powers to ensure that international rules work for many and not just the few.
The president said 2025 also carried special significance as it marked the 80th Anniversary of the United Nations, which Tanzania used as an opportunity to express its enduring faith in multilateralism, international cooperation, and the founding principles of the UN.
In its engagement at the United Nations during this anniversary year, Tanzania underscored a clear message that the credibility and relevance of the multilateral system must be preserved through equity, inclusiveness, respect for international law, and meaningful reform, particularly to ensure that the voices and interests of developing countries are fully reflected.
She said Tanzania holds that peace, development and human dignity are inseparable, and that global challenges demand collective, rules-based solutions rather than unilateral action.
Looking ahead, President Samia said Tanzania’s outlook in 2025 was both prospective and challenging, and that in 2026 the country’s voice will be raised to offer solutions, guided by its traditional tenets of peace and stability, good neighbourliness, nonalignment, non-interference and the promotion of regionalism and multilateralism.
“Tanzania will therefore not seek to take sides in a divided world but will seek to build bridges that will bring the world together. Our commitment is towards a world governed by law not by force,” she said.
She expressed appreciation for the support rendered by various governments to Tanzania’s candidatures in international organisations in 2025 and highlighted the country’s cultural diplomacy, particularly the promotion of Kiswahili.
She described UNESCO’s decision to recognise Kiswahili as one of the official languages of its General Conference as a historic milestone, marking the first time a language of African origin has attained such status.
President Samia also highlighted strengthened bilateral ties in 2025, marked by high-level visits and tangible outcomes, including the China-Zambia-Prosperity Belt and the 1.4 billion US dollars (3.47tri/-) revitalisation of the TAZARA railway, the 1.2 billion US dollars (2.98tri/-) Mkuju River Uranium Project with the Russian Federation, and the 2.1 billion US dollars (5.21tri/-) Kabanga Nickel Project with the United States.
She welcomed the Slovak Republic and the Republic of Hungary to the Tanzanian diplomatic community following the opening of their embassies in Dar es Salaam.
On regional and continental engagement, President Samia spoke of Tanzania’s role within the East African Community (EAC), Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the African Union (AU), noting its role as a consensus builder and its contribution to peace, security and trade integration, including the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
“As the Champion of Women and Youths in trade under the AfCFTA, I call upon the international community to support the financial inclusion agenda for women and youths to facilitate their involvement in trade,” she said. — NNN-DAILYNEWS