Tanzanian president hits Hub to promote tourism

Kristen Wyatt

Tanzania President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete recently swung through the east coast to promote Tanzania as one of the premier investment and tourism destinations in Africa.

Kikwete began his tour in New York City last month to attend the opening of the United Nations General Assembly meeting where he met with President Bush in both bilateral talks and as a part of a working group looking at the issue of terrorism.

On Sept. 24th, Kikwete was honored at the Connecticut estate of fashion designer Alexander Julian. In remarks to the high profile crowd, Kikwete explained that Tanzania is a peaceful country where Muslims and Christians coexist without friction.

Kikwete continued that theme during his visit in Boston.

Before a packed house at the Boston University Trustees Ballroom, he drew from Tanzania’s experience as a country that is 40 percent Muslim and 40 percent Christian to describe how the religious tensions that exist today between Muslims and Christians should not be the norm in political relations both nationally and internationally.

“Religious diversity is not inevitably a source of conflict or destabilization,” Kikwete said. “Fairness and mutual respect in bilateral relations can go a long way in bridging the so called gulf between the West and the Muslim world.”

Kikwete’s lecture ended on a powerful note. “Religious intolerance is fueled by ignorance of what other faiths stand for,” he said. “We must promote inter-faith dialogue and cooperation.”

Last week, he was officially welcomed to the Commonwealth by Gov. Mitt Romney and Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey. Crowds of Boston locals and tourists congregated around the steps of the State House for the welcome as the U.S. and Tanzanian national anthems were played.

Romney and Healey met with Kikwete, Tanzanian Ambassador to the U.S. Andrew Daraja, and Charles R. Stith, former U.S. Ambassador to Tanzania and director of the Boston University African Presidential Archives and Research Center.

Although Kikwete acknowledged that Tanzania is one of world’s poorest countries, he said “the country is an extremely dynamic place, indeed a hidden treasure, where a few clever investors are quietly reaping profits from their investments in different sectors.”

Kikwete also pointed that in 2005, Financial Times ranked Tanzania first as the country of the future in terms of economic potential in Central and Eastern Africa.

“I am here to spread that story and convince you to consider Tanzania as a safe and profitable destination for your investments,” Kikwete said.