HUNGARY’S Foreign Affairs and Trade minister, Péter Szijjártó, is in Dar es Salaam for a two-day official visit in the country.

Ambassador Said Shaibu Mussa, the deputy permanent secretary at the Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation ministry received minister Szijjártó at the Julius Nyerere International Airport (JNIA) upon arrival yesterday, the ministry said in a statement.

It said that the minister’s visit is a vibrant display of Tanzania's diplomacy, rich with promise in cooperation, illustrating strong ties Tanzania maintains with Hungary.

The minister comes at the invitation of his counterpart January Makamba, expected to involve direct talks between the two to deliberate on priority issues, including a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Water ministry and an agency with the Interior ministry of Hungary.

It is focused on cooperation in water management, where the two ministers are expected to sign the agreement, cementing a new chapter of collaboration between the two nations.

The visiting minister will participate in a joint press conference with his counterpart as well as an exclusive interview with the Tanzania Broadcasting Corporation (TBC) and the Daily News, a government daily broadsheet.

Readiness to be involved in the interviews showcases minister Szijjártó’s commitment to transparency and engagement with the Tanzanian media, the statement asserted.

Talks are also scheduled between minister Szijjártó and the Defence and National Service minister Dr Stergomena Tax in the latter’s Upanga offices in the main defence forces quarter.

The visit will serve as a testament to an enduring partnership between Tanzania and Hungary, with a promising future marked by mutual respect, cooperation, and shared prosperity, the statement indicated.

For decades, Tanzania and Hungary have been enjoying good relations, especially in the era of the Soviet Union and the eastern socialist block, followed by relative eclipse in ties as the countries of central Europe focused on integrating with their western European neighbourhood from the early 1990s.

Tanzania receives development assistance from Hungary through multilateral agencies such as the European Development Fund (EDF) with technical assistance to Tanzania initially focused on education, via the provision of scholarships to study in Hungary.

 In trade and investment, the trade volume with Hungary stood at 13.3m dollars last year, with Foreign Affairs asserting that the two countries have the potential to improve trade and investment.

Tanzania Investment Centre (TIC) data shows that Hungary has four registered direct investment projects valued at 1.79m, while Tanzania's exports to Hungary stood at $2.577m and imports from Hungary reached $10.7m by last year.

Tanzania exports vegetables, tobacco, ossein and bones treated with acid, roasted coffee substitutes, heads, tails, paws and other pieces of raw fur skin, and tooth fish (Dissostichus).

The country has been importing isocyanides, medicaments of mixed or unmixed products for retail sale, sanitary towels (pads) and tampons, paraffin wax and similar consumer items from Hungary.

Visiting Hungarian tourists moved up from 2,175 in 2018 to 11,428 last year, with an Eastern Europe tourism event organised late last year as a platform for the promotion of Tanzania's tourism attractions and engagement in tourism business, the statement added.