This article covers India's development partnership with Tanzania, including grant projects, humanitarian assistance, lines of credit and ITEC training, together with cooperation in health, defence and hydrography. It is based on the MEA brief of April 2026, and the status of projects is given as of that brief.

Grant projects

According to the MEA brief of April 2026, India has executed a number of projects in Tanzania under government grants. Three IT and communication projects have been completed:

  • the Pan African e-Network Project at the University of Dar es Salaam, in 2010
  • a Centre of Excellence in ICT at the Dar es Salaam Institute of Technology, in 2011
  • an ICT Centre at the Nelson Mandela African Institute for Science & Technology, in 2016

A power back-up system for the ICT Centre was gifted to the Nelson Mandela African Institute of Science and Technology on 19 August 2023. In August 2017, over 1,30,000 NCERT Science and Mathematics text books for Secondary Public Schools were handed over to the Minister of Education, Science, Technology & Vocational Training.

Health and humanitarian assistance

India set up a radiation therapy machine, 'Bhabhatron-II', for cancer patients at Bugando Medical Centre, Mwanza, under Government of India grant support in July 2016. As of the brief, over 100 cancer patients are receiving radiation therapy daily.

The 1st tranche of essential medicines and vaccines worth USD 1 million, announced during Prime Minister Modi's visit in July 2016, was handed to the Ministry of Health of Tanzania in September 2018. A second tranche of essential medicines (nearly USD 1 million) was handed over on 10 September 2020, and essential medicines were handed to Zanzibar in April 2022. 10 ambulances were gifted to the Ministry of Health on 4 October 2023.

On 10 February 2026, India gave critical life saving equipment to Shree Hindu Mandal Hospital in Dar es Salaam as humanitarian assistance: three cardiac monitors, two mechanical ventilators, six infusion pumps and three syringe pumps, worth more than 120 million shillings (Rs. 43,45,590). India also extended support of USD 250,000 for Kagera earthquake relief in September 2016.

Under the "India for Humanity" programme of the Government of India, Shree Bhagwan Mahavir Viklang Sahayata Samiti, Jaipur, has organised two Jaipur Foot artificial limb camps in Dar es Salaam:

  • 6th June 2019 to 13th July 2019, at the Muhimbili Orthopedic Institute under a Government of India grant: 551 limbs to 520 Tanzanian beneficiaries, free of cost
  • 24 November 2025 to 8 January 2026: 653 Jaipur Foot artificial limbs to 622 differently-abled beneficiaries from various regions of Tanzania

On 19 December 2025, the Ministry of Ayush of India and the Ministry of Health of Tanzania signed an MOU on cooperation in the field of traditional system of medicine and Indian Ayurveda.

Lines of credit

As of the brief, India has committed over USD 1.1 billion in lines of credit (LOC) to Tanzania for various water projects. The LOCs listed in the brief are:

  • USD 36.56 million for the supply of trucks and other vehicles to the Tanzanian People's Defence Force (TPDF), in 2013-14
  • USD 40 million for the supply of tractors and agricultural equipment, in 2013
  • USD 178.125 million for water supply projects in Dar es Salaam and the coastal Chalinze region
  • USD 268.35 million for extending a water pipeline from Lake Victoria to the towns of Tabora, Igunga and Nzega in western Tanzania
  • USD 500 million for water infrastructure projects in several towns, under an agreement signed on 10 May 2018

The water supply packages from the Upper Ruvu River to Dar es Salaam were completed and inaugurated by the late President Dr. John Pombe J. Magufuli on 21 June 2017, and the Chalinze water distribution package was completed in April 2023. The Lake Victoria pipeline was inaugurated by the late President Dr. John Magufuli on 30 January 2021, and remaining funds were used for a water supply project in Tinde and Sheuli villages.

For the USD 500 million line of credit, four Indian companies, L&T, Afcons-Vijeta JV, Megha Engineering and Jindal Water Infrastructure, were selected to implement the project. The contracts were signed with Tanzania's Ministry of Water on 6 June 2022 in Dodoma, and the project has been under implementation since April 2023.

Training under ITEC

The brief describes Tanzania as a major beneficiary of training courses under India's ITEC programme. India offers 1000 ITEC scholarships to Tanzania every year. ITEC scholarships were first extended to Tanzania in 1972, and since then over 8855 Tanzanians have benefited from the programme.

Defence cooperation

India and Tanzania signed an MoU on Defence Co-operation in Oct 2003, which provides an over-arching framework for defence cooperation initiatives. Tanzanian defence personnel have been trained in Indian institutions, and an Indian Military Training Team (IMTT) has been deployed at the Command and Staff College, Arusha, since December 2017.

The Joint Defence Cooperation Committee (JDCC) has met four times:

  • 1st JDCC: New Delhi, 15 January 2021
  • 2nd JDCC: Arusha, 28-29 June 2023, when a 5-year road map for defence cooperation was signed
  • 3rd JDCC: Goa, 26 November 2024
  • 4th JDCC: Zanzibar, 2-4 February 2026, co-chaired by Joint Secretary Shri Amitabh Prasad

The fourth meeting discussed military training, maritime security and defence industry collaboration, and explored new areas such as peacekeeping, electronic warfare, cyber and AI training.

Maritime cooperation and hydrography

Indian naval survey ships have conducted hydrographic surveys of Tanzanian ports and prepared navigational charts. During Prime Minister Modi's visit in July 2016, 100 copies of 6 navigational charts and 7 ENCs prepared by India were handed over to Tanzanian officials.

Indian naval and coast guard ships have made regular visits:

  • IN Ship Tarkash, 26-29 October 2022: a bilateral Maritime Partnership Exercise and the 1st trilateral exercise involving India, Tanzania and Mozambique
  • INS Trishul, 5-9 July 2023: joint surveillance of the Tanzanian EEZ and Maritime Partnership Exercises
  • ICGS Varaha visited Zanzibar on 23-26 February 2024, and INS Tir and ICGS Sarathi on 22-24 March 2024
  • the second India-Mozambique-Tanzania trilateral maritime exercise, in March 2024
  • INS Suvarna, 19-21 October 2024, when an Infantry Weapon Training Simulator gifted by the Government of India was handed to the Tanzania Peoples Defence Forces
  • INS Trikand, 3 to 6 April 2026, when the crew held joint exercises with the TPDF Navy

India and Tanzania co-hosted the 1st edition of the Africa India Key Maritime Engagement (AIKEYME) from 13-18 April 2025. Three Indian naval ships, INS Chennai, INS Kesari and IOS Sagar, took part. There were 10 participants in total: India and nine countries from the Eastern and South African region (Tanzania, Comoros, Djibouti, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles and South Africa).