Issa Yussuf

With ongoing improvement of infrastructure and provision of better services, Zanzibar expects to attract more tourists from Belgium and beyond.

This was stated by President Hussein Mwinyi during a recent meeting with Belgium Ambassador to Tanzania Mr Peter Huyghebaert, who was in the Islands on a familiasation visit.

Dr Mwinyi informed his guest that since tourism is one of the key areas for Zanzibar's Blue Economy agenda; it remains focused on making Zanzibar the best destination for tourists from across the globe.

"We have been working harder to modernise our airports and other infrastructures at our tourists' attraction sites along with providing better services so that our visitors can speak positively or become good ambassadors abroad," Mwinyi said.

He expressed his happiness to meet and talk to the Ambassador, saying that Belgium has been one of the countries bringing many tourists to Zanzibar and that strengthening bilateral relations would further pave the way for more tourists and investors from the European nation to visit the archipelago.

"Having direct flights from Belgium to Zanzibar opens up opportunities for tourists to fly to our country with many places to visit," Dr Mwinyi said as he also asked to build stronger relations in areas of health and Information Communication Technology (ICT), which are crucial in achieving development goals.

Dr Mwinyi also explained to Ambassador Huyghebaert that Belgium can help to connect Zanzibar and Tanzania in general to benefit from development projects opportunities from the European Union (EU) through economic diplomacy.

On his part, Ambassador Huyghebaert, thanked the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar and congratulated President Mwinyi for his efforts to develop Zanzibar by implementing various workable measures including strengthening relations with development partners.

He said "The existing good relations between Belgium and Tanzania including Zanzibar will continue to bear good fruits for the benefit of its citizens and that he would work on the requests from Dr Mwinyi in regards to building stronger relations in areas of health and ICT.

The envoy assured Dr Mwinyi that Tanzania is among countries in Africa to continue benefiting from development programmes set by Belgium in various areas including ICT with planned e-health and e-immigration; women and child health, and gender economic and ICT empowerment.

Tanzania and Belgium developed diplomatic and business relations in the 1980s, opening the Belgium embassy in Dar es Salaam and Tanzania opening its embassy in the country's capital, Brussels.