DAR ES SALAAM, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) – Tanzania and Burundi are in talks to build a joint nickel processing plant, Tanzanian President John Magufuli announced on Saturday.
Magufuli revealed the deal shortly after introducing visiting Burundian President Evariste Ndayishimiye at a public rally at the Lake Tanganyika stadium in the Kigoma region.
“Today, we will be discussing with the Burundian leader to see how we can speed up the construction of the joint nickel processing plant,” the Tanzanian head of state said at the rally.
“Tanzania and Burundi are producers of nickel which is exported unprocessed,” he said.
President Magufuli said President Ndayishimiye’s one-day working visit aimed to strengthen investment and trade relations between the two East African countries.
The Tanzanian president also noted that the Tanzania Investment Center had registered Burundian investments worth around US $ 29.42 million with 544 job opportunities, adding that more than ten Tanzanian companies had already invested. in Burundi.
For his part, Burundian President Ndayishimiye congratulated President Magufuli for changing Tanzania in a short period of time, saying that this transformation was a lesson for his country.
“My visit will help Burundi to draw inspiration from Tanzania’s experience towards the transformation process,” said the Burundian head of state.