Tanzania Pitches Bagamoyo Project in St Petersburg
From 3 to 6 June 2026, Tanzania’s President Samia Hassan conducted a historic visit to Russia. The state visit to Moscow is quite remarkable as it occurred 57 years after the last visit by the Founding President Julius Nyerere during the decolonization movement and Cold War era. Observers noted that this visit is taking place after the deterioration of relations between Tanzania and the Western World, following the crackdown on protestors after the elections in October 2025.
Coincidentally, 2026 also marks 65 years of diplomatic relationship between Tanzania and Russia. Other than a tete-a-tete with Putin, Hassan was one of the main guests at the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum 2026 (#SPIEF2026). Actually, she had the privilege of participating in a high-level panel with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Uzbekistani President Shavkat Mirziyoye, and Chinese Vice-President HAN Zheng.
As a matter of fact, she was the only African Head of State in attendance, whereas other African countries were represented at the ministerial or ambassadorial level. Other African high officials took part in the Russia-Africa Business Dialogue.
President Hassan placed the #Bagamoyo Eco Maritime City (#BEMC) at the top of her shopping list. She positioned the Bagamoyo project, which is made up of a seaport plus Special Economic Zone (#SEZ), as the gateway and manufacturing hub for the East and Central African region. She cordially invited Russian investors to contribute to the realization of her country’s #Vision2050TZ.
She also underlined Tanzania’s rich reserves of #CriticalMinerals, such as nickel, graphite, uranium, niobium, and gold, to name a few. In particular, she highlighted the success stories of the Tembo Nickel and Mahenge Graphite projects, which are bringing up to USD 1.3 billion of foreign direct investment (#FDI) into Tanzania.
However, she expressed concern to the Russian authorities about the delays for the Mkuju River Uranium Project. Rosatom pledged to invest up to USD 1.2 billion to extract uranium and build a nuclear plant in Tanzania. With this project, Tanzania was aiming to achieve energy security by 2029, but that looks like a far-off target at the moment.
Both countries agreed that Air Tanzania will launch direct flights from Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar to Moscow, starting on 2 July 2026. On the other hand, the Russian airline company, Azur Air, will also initiate direct flights from Moscow to Zanzibar. Tanzania and Russia had direct flights before the #COVID19 pandemic, and 2026 will finally see the resumption of such flights.
The visit appears to be sending a signal that Tanzania is shifting its foreign policy to ‘Look East’, as ties with Western countries remain frayed. Concomitantly, Putin was quite eager to demonstrate that Russia was not isolated. Hassan defended her country’s posture and dismissed the East-West mutually exclusive pole narrative, stating that Tanzania partners with countries based on its own national interests.