—Matt Gwinta, B1Daily

Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo are moving to strengthen their economic relationship, with Presidents Samia Suluhu Hassan and Félix Tshisekedi putting trade, mining, transportation and infrastructure at the center of new bilateral talks.

The discussions followed Tshisekedi’s working visit to Tanzania, where the two leaders met in Zanzibar on August 18. A major priority is improving the Central Corridor, which connects the mineral-rich DRC with Tanzania’s transportation network and Indian Ocean ports. Plans discussed include improvements to ports in Dar es Salaam, Kigoma and Kalemie, stronger Lake Tanganyika transport connections, railway integration and cross-border fiber-optic infrastructure.

The economic relationship is already substantial. Bilateral trade reportedly reached about TZS 794 billion in 2025, while Tanzania’s infrastructure gives landlocked DRC an important route for moving imports and exports.

Mining could make the partnership even more important. The DRC possesses enormous mineral resources, while Tanzania can provide ports, railways and logistical infrastructure connecting Congolese producers with international markets. The countries also discussed cooperation involving geological research, mineral processing and efforts against illegal mineral trafficking.

For both countries, the larger opportunity is to ensure that deeper cooperation produces more than simply another pipeline carrying African raw materials overseas. Better transportation links should be paired with local mineral processing, manufacturing, employment and African-owned businesses so that more of the value created by the DRC’s resources remains within African economies.

If Tanzania and the DRC can combine Congolese mineral wealth with Tanzanian infrastructure and greater regional processing, their partnership could become an important example of how African countries can use regional trade to strengthen their negotiating power in the global economy.

—Matt Gwinta, B1Daily