MEDIA RELEASE
Released By:
Smith
Tanzania's Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Mr Bernard Membe, is visiting Australia from today Monday 25 May to Friday 29 May.
I will meet with Mr Membe in Canberra today, Monday 25 May and in Perth on Friday 29 May. Mr Membe will also visit Sydney.
I previously met with Mr Membe at the Africa Union Foreign Ministerial Meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in January this year.
Mr Membe's visit is a milestone in Australia's relationship with Tanzania. It is the first visit to Australia by a Tanzanian Foreign Minister since 1989.
Mr Membe and I will conduct a formal bilateral meeting in Canberra.
As well, in Canberra Mr Membe and I will address a reception hosted by the African Heads of Mission marking Africa Day on Monday 25 May. Africa Day marks the day the Organisation of African Unity (now the African Union) was founded 46 years ago.
In Perth on Friday Mr Membe and I will address the Australian Institute of International Affairs to mark the United Nations International Day of Peacekeepers.
Tanzania and Australia enjoy warm relations based on growing commercial ties and long-standing people-to-people links. These relations are reinforced by shared values and cooperation in international organisations such as the Commonwealth and the United Nations.
Australian companies are making a significant contribution to Tanzania's economy, particularly in the Tanzanian mining sector. Mr Membe's visit will provide an opportunity to examine further potential for business and commercial cooperation.
Tanzania will continue to be a significant partner for Australia's development assistance program in Africa, which will increase to over $160 million in the 2009-10 Budget.
Australia will train an additional 75 community workers dealing with Tanzanian children and families adversely affected by HIV/AIDS, extending an ongoing program in partnership with UNICEF. Fourteen Tanzanians will receive post-graduate scholarships next year, as part of AusAID's growing scholarships program in Africa.