Tanzania President declares strong cooperation with State of Israel

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apolinari1

Looking for closer cooperation with Tel Aviv, Tanzanian President John Magufuli has declared a strong cooperation with the State of Israel, targeting to benefit from tourism, business, technology, and medical services provision.

The Tanzanian president met the Israel Ambassador who is on tour of duty in Kenya and Tanzania, Mr. Yahel Vilan, and said Tanzania will strengthen its political and economic cooperation with Israel.

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Mr. Magufuli said Tanzania is now looking to strengthening tourism and travel business with Israel after the arrival of 200 tourists from Tel Aviv a few days ago, among them, the former Israel Prime Minister, Mr. Ehud Barak, who is on a holiday trip in Tanzania.

Mr. Barak is currently visiting Ngorongoro Conservation Area in northern Tanzania. Reports from tourism authorities said the former Israel Prime Minister had visited Olduvai Gorge Museum, the place where remains of early man was discovered and stored 58 years ago.

Ngorongoro, like the Holy Land of Israel, is the place where several archaeological research activities are taking place, looking to unravel the early history of man and pre-historical findings. Various books on the early history of mankind and anthropology have been compiled on Ngorongoro and its historical sites of Olduvai and Laetoli.

Mr. Barak said the area was very important because, as a cradle of mankind, it connects the early human being with the modern human generation.

The former Israel leader said he was impressed with his visit to Ngorongoro Crater and Olduvai Gorge, the only place on this planet where people and wild animals live in peace and harmony.

The former Prime Minister is spending his Easter holiday in Northern Tanzania at this time, when millions of Christians in East Africa are celebrating the Easter holiday whose roots are in the Holy Land of Israel.

Tanzania broke its relations with Israel following the 1973 Yom Kippur War, and ties were restored in 1995, but Israel conducted its relations with Tanzania through Kenya.

โ€œAfter finalizing our agreement on establishing diplomatic ties with Israel, we are going to receive Israeli tourists. We will continue to strengthen political and economic relations with them,โ€ said President Magufuli.

In his brief meeting with Mr. Vilan at the posh State House in Dar es Salaam, Mr. Magufuli said Tanzania had sent its envoy to Tel Aviv, and requested the Israel Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to establish a permanent Israel embassy in Tanzania.

Tanzania had established formal diplomatic relations with Israel in 1963 before severing them in 1973. During the 10 years of relations, Tanzania benefited from the State of Israel, with strong development through assistance on investments in agriculture, infrastructure, and security cooperation among others.

Many roads in the city of Dar es Salaam and some tourist lodges in Northern Tanzania wildlife parks were built by the Israelis during the past years. Israel built its own Embassy which it had to abandon in 1973 when Tanzania closed its relations with the Jewish State.

The embassy building was later taken over by the government of Tanzania and later, handed it over to the Tanzania Tourist Corporation (TTC), then rented it to the Americans who moved their own embassy there in 1980 until 1998 when that strong building was bombed along with the other US Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya.

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