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DAR ES
SALAAM (Xinhua) -- World
leaders have started sending congratulatory
messages to Tanzanian President
Jakaya Kikwete on the 50th anniversary of the
union between Tanganyika and
Zanzibar that will be marked on April 26.
A
statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International
Cooperation said messages were received from Pope Francis and leaders of
Germany, France, Ireland, India, South Africa, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Botswana,
Algeria, Egypt, South Korea, South Sudan and Benin.
"I
pray that you may continue to be guided in your efforts to promote the
common
good, in solidarity with all the people of Tanzania," said the Roman
Pontiff.
German
President Joachim Gauck praised President Kikwete for creating a
climate of
tolerance and the dialogue between religious communities.
"I
would like to express my hope that our bilateral and regional relations will
continue to flourish in the years to come and that we will work together to
adopt economic, political and social development solutions for the mutual
benefit of our two countries and for global prosperity," Malawian
President
Joyce Banda said.
UPDATE:
Tanzania
and Chinese presidents exchange greetings on 50th anniversary
BEIJING
(Xinhua) -- Chinese
President Xi Jinping and his Tanzanian counterpart
Jakaya Kikwete have
exchanged messages of congratulations to mark the 50th
anniversary of the
establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries.
Xi said
China and Tanzania, which are all weather friends, have maintained
unbreakable traditional friendship.
Since
the establishment of bilateral ties 50 years ago, both sides have always
respected, trusted and supported each other, and have achieved fruitful
results
in cooperation in the fields of politics, economy, health care,
culture, education,
and military affairs, Xi said.
The
China-Tanzania friendship has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the two
peoples, he said.
Xi said
he paid a successful state visit to Tanzania and held brotherly talks with
Kikwete in March last year, and the two sides reached important consensus on
building and developing a comprehensive partnership based on mutual benefit
and win-win cooperation.
The
Chinese president said he pays high attention to advancing the ties between
the two countries.
He said
he would like to take the advantage of the jubilee celebration to make
joint
efforts with Kikwete to upgrade the bilateral ties to a higher level from a
new historical starting point.
Calling
the diplomatic relations between China and Tanzania unique, Kikwete
said,
"Our
countries have demonstrated that it is possible to be ‘all weather friends’
as you say.
"Suffice
it to say that we have worked closely together in mutual trust at bilateral
and multilateral levels."
He said
President Xi’s historic visit to Tanzania last year as the first African
country to visit after assuming office and his own expected visit to China in
October are bold statements depicting "the strong and profound
diplomatic
relations existing between our countries."
"I
also wish to seize this opportunity to reiterate my government’s desire and
commitment to further strengthen the traditional bonds of friendship and
cooperation that exists between our two countries for the mutual benefit of
our
people," he said.
Chinese
Foreign Minister Wang Yi also exchanged congratulatory messages with
his
Tanzanian counterpart Bernard Membe on the occasion.
China
established diplomatic relations with Tanzania on April 26, 1964.
EARLIER
REPORTS:
Tanzanian
president stresses importance of union on anniversary eve
DAR ES
SALAAM (Xinhua) -- Tanzanian
President Jakaya Kikwete has said
politicians were to blame if the union
between Tanganyika and Zanzibar
crumbled today, 50 years after its creation.
In his
union anniversary eve speech, Kikwete said if the union fell apart, the most
people to be affected were ordinary Tanzanians from both sides - Tanganyika
and Zanzibar.
Tanganyika
and Zanzibar were united on April 26, 1964 into the United Republic
of Tanzania.
Kikwete
made these comments after many Tanzanians support for a three-tier
union
government in the draft constitution while politicians, mainly from the
ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi, push for a two-tier union government.
The
president said founding leaders of the union, Julius Nyerere and Abeid Aman
Karume, chose to merge their nations because they had faith in power of the
union which has been a key step in uniting east African countries of
Tanzania,
Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda and Burundi.
Meanwhile,
more world leaders continued to send congratulatory messages to
President
Kikwete on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the union between
Tanganyika and Zanzibar.
A
statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation
said on Friday that the messages received were sent by the state heads of the
United States, Ghana, Italy, Singapore, Thailand and the United Arab
Emirates.
China
will send a special envoy to Tanzania for the 50th anniversary
BEIJING
(Xinhua) -- China
will send a special envoy to Tanzania for the 50th
anniversary of the
country’s establishment, a Chinese Foreign Ministry
spokesman announced on
Wednesday.
Chen
Changzhi, vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National
People’s
Congress of China, will be President Xi Jinping’s special envoy to attend
Tanzania’s celebrations that are scheduled for Saturday, spokesman Qin Gang
told a news briefing.
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