India and Tanzania scale up defence ties with another high-level visit to Dar es Salaam

Bolstering defence ties between the two countries, Director General of Defence Intelligence Agency (DG DIA) Lieutenant General D.S. Rana will begin his two-day visit to Tanzania starting Monday.

Lieutenant General Rana's visit to the East African country, seen as one of New Delhi's reliable partners in the region, will be yet another step towards enhancing the security of the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of SAGAR – Safety and Growth for All in the Region.

Last October, after the two countries agreed to a five-year roadmap for defence cooperation in June 2023, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Manoj Pande visited Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar and Arusha to strengthen bilateral defence cooperation with the larger aim of enhancing security in the IOR.

Besides holding meetings with the country's defence leadership and delivering a keynote address on New Delhi's 'Make in India, Make for the World' capability under the 'Atamnirbhar Bharat' initiative, General Pande also gifted a 'Made in India' Infantry Simulator and bulletproof jackets to Tanzania Peoples' Defence Force (TPDF).

During his two-day visit, Lieutenant General Rana will present the TPDF with more Indian-manufactured bulletproof jackets as a gesture of goodwill towards expanding military cooperation.

He is also scheduled to interact with the senior military leadership of Tanzania, including the Chief of Defence Staff General Jacob John Mkunda and his counterpart, Major General M.N. Mkeremy, Chief of Defence Intelligence and discuss India's security perspective with future leaders of the TPDF during his visit to the Tanzanian National Defence College.

Lt. Gen. Rana will also inaugurate the newly set up Defence Wing at the High Commission of India in Dar Es Salaam. The DG DIA will then inaugurate the library and lay the foundation stone for the gymnasium - being facilitated through the government of India's assistance - at the Command and Staff College in Arusha.

"India shares close, warm and friendly relations with Tanzania, which is bolstered by robust capacity building and avenues for defence cooperation. The visit of the Indian military delegation is expected to further strengthen the elevated strategic partnership with Tanzania," the ministry said in a statement ahead of the visit.