Transport Minister Kamel El-Wazir and his Tanzanian counterpart, Professor Makame Mbarawa, visited Alexandria Port and discussed ways to advance bilateral cooperation toward a strategic partnership in transport. The ministers began the visit with an expanded meeting, during which El-Wazir expressed Egypt’s interest in expanding cooperation with Tanzania across transport sectors, building on historic ties and efforts to boost Egyptian exports and establish logistics hubs in African countries, particularly Tanzania, a key gateway to landlocked countries, Dar Al Salaam Port is also a major hub in East Africa.
El-Wazir said the proposed cooperation is based on integration and partnership, with the memorandum of understanding expected to be signed soon covering several key areas, including establishing a multipurpose terminal at Dar Al Salaam Port through an Egyptian-Tanzanian international consortium.
The port serves around 90% of Tanzania’s domestic market and connects six landlocked countries: Malawi, Zambia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda. The memorandum also includes launching a shipping route linking Egypt’s Red Sea ports of Sokhna and Safaga with Dar es Salaam, establishing an Egyptian logistics zone in Tanzania and a Tanzanian logistics zone in Egypt, and cooperating with Tanzania’s railway company to connect the new facilities to the national railway network, integrating maritime, land and rail transport.
El-Wazir said the cooperation stems from a memorandum of understanding on infrastructure signed with Tanzania’s Ministry of Transport during President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi’s visit to Tanzania. It aims to establish a multimodal Cairo-Dar Al Salaam logistics corridor linking Egypt’s Red Sea ports to Dar Al Salaam by sea, then by electric train to landlocked Central African countries.
He also said Egypt has leading infrastructure companies ready to implement Tanzanian projects to high standards, quickly and at competitive costs. Tanzania’s Transport Minister praised Egypt’s role in supporting bilateral cooperation and expressed appreciation for visiting Alexandria Port, one of Africa’s largest ports with high global rankings.
He also praised Egyptian expertise in transport and infrastructure, saying the talks mark an important step toward launching joint projects. He added that technical committees will meet in the coming period to activate projects under the memorandum of understanding and strengthen the strategic partnership.
During the meeting, he requested scholarships for Tanzanian students to study at the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport and benefit from its educational and training expertise.