‘India, Tanzania set an example in
Doha talks’
Tanzania and India have always enjoyed close bilateral relationship, especially
in the areas of trade and education. In this exclusive interview with The
Express reporter Kizito Makoye on the eve of India’s 57th Independence Day, His
Excellency Dinesh Jain, the Indian High Commissioner to Tanzania, speaks about
the coming together of the two nations under the South South Cooperation in the
Doha round of WTO negotiations, a likely visit by Indian President next year and
India’s endorsement of Tanzania’s candidature for a non-permanent seat in the UN
Security Council.
Q: Is the visit of the Indian President to Tanzania in the offing?
A: Given the traditionally close friendship between India and Tanzania, we
continue to have a regular exchange of visits, including at high political
levels. This is most evident from the fact that Mwalimu Nyerere visited India 14
times between 1971 and 1996, eight times as the President of Tanzania. From
India, our successive Presidents, Vice Presidents and Prime Ministers have also
regularly visited Tanzania. After President Mkapa’s State visit to India in
December 2002, and President Karume’s visit in March this year, we should indeed
be expecting and hopeful for a return visit from India, including by the
President of India, in the coming months.
Q: If there is a top-level visit what would be on the agenda?
A: India-Tanzania bilateral relations, besides being close and friendly, are
firmly founded on mutual understanding, right across the whole range of issues -
bilateral, regional and global. Our two countries work in close consultation and
concert on all major issues in international forums, such as currently in WTO on
the Doha round of negotiations. The fact is that we have no issues between us,
only a vast fund of mutual goodwill.
Under the circumstances, the primary objective of any visits from either side at
high political level comprise further strengthening of friendship, adding to the
fund of goodwill, strengthening and expanding bilateral trade and cooperation,
and continue the process of ongoing consultations on matters of mutual interest.
Q: Could you give us a brief idea about the new developments in the bilateral
ties between the two countries?
A: Our bilateral ties have forever been dynamic and vibrant. There are always
new developments, aimed at further consolidating them. To cite just a few, India
recently gifted 5,000 tonnes of wheat and 5,000 tonnes of rice to Tanzania to
help meet the current food scarcity in this country arising from persisting
drought conditions; and the increase from 62 to 75 from this year in the annual
allocation of training slots to Tanzania under our Indian Technical and Economic
Cooperation (ITEC) programme.
Since April, we have received at least four diverse cultural troupes from India
for Indian cultural presentation in Tanzania. I mentioned about President
Karume’s visit to India last March. Only today, I signed a formal communication
advising the Government of Tanzania of India’s support for Tanzania’s
candidature this year for a non-permanent seat in the UN Security Council.
Earlier, we were similarly pleased to support Ambassador Mchuma as Tanzania’s
candidature for Managing Director of the prestigious Common Fund for Commodities
(CFC). And then, of course, we have several cooperation proposals either in
pipeline or under active bilateral consideration.
Q: What about South South cooperation, especially in regard to WTO. Is India
collaborating with Tanzania in that area?
A: I am glad you asked me this, for India-Tanzania cooperation in regard to WTO,
and in particular the current Doha round of negotiations, has been a shining
example, playing a crucial role in giving proper orientation and direction to
these talks. India as a major developing country, and Tanzania as the
coordinator of the Least Developed Countries, have common perspectives and
aspirations, and share views right across the board on the issues in the
negotiation process. We have been regularly and closely consulting each other,
working in total concert, so as to promote progress towards our common
objectives.
Indeed, the kind of unity and cooperation as has been witnessed during these
negotiations among developing countries, best epitomised by India and Tanzania,
has been widely acknowledged as one of the major achievements in itself of the
process.
Q: India has for long been providing medical services in its hospitals,
especially open heart operations to patients from Third World countries,
including Tanzania. Apparently, it is very expensive and most patients cannot
afford it. Is there some financial relief available to such poor patients?
A: We have been pleased to provide medical services for Tanzanian patients in
our hospitals and medical institutions. In recent years this has emerged as a
very significant dimension of our bilateral friendship and cooperation. But let
me dispel any notion that it is very expensive. In relative terms, it is about
the most inexpensive anywhere in the world, just as Indian education. A novel
phenomenon is of patients from the West now coming to India for major surgery
and other such treatments, for the reasons of cost, quality, and facility of
treatment in India as compared to in their own country.
I do meet many of your patients going to India and none of them has ever
complained of high costs. Indian healthcare in general costs between one-fourth
and one-tenth of comparable services in other places and particularly in the
West.
Nonetheless, Tanzanian patients going to India as sponsored by the Government of
Tanzania, as also by the Government of Zanzibar, are provided much support and
subsidies by several Indian organisations involved. For such groups, our High
Commission issues visas without visa fees, Air India provides several facilities
including subsidised air fare, and Indian hospitals as part of their scheme
provide subsidised treatment, also often including free accommodation for the
attendants accompanying the patients. We are regularly in dialogue with the
Tanzanian side to make these services more easily accessible, in every sense of
the term.