Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa has stepped up Tanzania’s push for skills-based education and modern agriculture by visiting the Belarusian State Agrarian Technical University (BSATU), where he held high-level talks aimed at fostering partnerships between Tanzanian and Belarusian institutions.
Speaking during the meeting held on Wednesday, July 23, 2025, at the university’s headquarters in Minsk, Mr. Majaliwa underscored Tanzania’s commitment to strengthening vocational and technical education, particularly in areas critical to national development such as agriculture and engineering.
“Our government under the leadership of President Dr. Samia Suluhu Hassan is placing greater emphasis on practical skills training,” said Mr. Majaliwa.
“We want to see institutions like Sokoine University of Agriculture and the Dar es Salaam Institute of Technology (DIT) work more closely with universities like BSATU to promote knowledge exchange, innovation, and industrial transformation.”
The Prime Minister’s visit follows the signing of a bilateral education agreement between Tanzania and Belarus, witnessed by both countries' prime ministers a day earlier.
Mr. Majaliwa said the time was ripe for both sides to move from policy to practice through exchange programmes, joint research initiatives, and structured internships for students and lecturers.
Rector of BSATU, Mr. Romaniuk Nikolai, welcomed the Prime Minister and expressed his university’s readiness to collaborate with Tanzanian institutions.
“We are prepared to immediately begin dialogue with your Ministry of Education to explore how best to implement our shared goals,” said Mr. Nikolai.
He explained that BSATU, founded in 1954, is Belarus’ leading institution in agricultural engineering, economics, and management.
The university works in close collaboration with 39 partner organizations that focus on agricultural innovation and the production of modern farming machinery.
Mr. Nikolai noted that BSATU’s teaching model is heavily practical, with 70 percent of coursework delivered through hands-on learning.
Each student is required to complete 28 weeks of external industrial internship before graduation a structure that aligns with Tanzania’s new education ambitions.
Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Majaliwa met with representatives from AFTRADE, a consortium of Belarusian companies doing business in African markets.
The talks, held at President Hotel, focused on boosting trade and investment flows between the two nations.
The Prime Minister is accompanied by a high-level delegation including Mr. Shariff Ali Sharriff, Minister of State in the President’s Office (Labour, Economy and Investment – Zanzibar); Mr. Cosato Chumi, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation; Dr. Khatibu Kazungu, Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Energy; Dr. Stephen Nindi, Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture; and Ambassador Fredrick Kibuta, Tanzania’s envoy to Russia and Belarus.
This official tour is part of Tanzania’s broader foreign engagement strategy aimed at strengthening bilateral ties in education, technology transfer, energy, and agriculture — sectors seen as pivotal to accelerating inclusive national development.