Tanzania, July 20 -- Dar es Salaam. The agreements unveiled by Presidents Samia Suluhu Hassan and Abdel Fattah El-Sisi on Saturday may have been announced during a state visit, but their implications extend well beyond diplomacy, The Citizen has learnt.

They represent a strategic attempt to reposition Tanzania and Egypt as economic gateways linking East Africa, North Africa, the Middle East and Europe through trade, transport and investment, while advancing Africa's integration agenda under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

At the heart of the new partnership is a shared acknowledgement that commercial ties have failed to keep pace with the strong diplomatic relationship enjoyed by the two countries.

Although Egypt is a...