Uranium, Drums, and 'Hapa Kazi Tu

The unusual landscape turned out to be far from the only surprise on this trip. The sequence of unexpected developments began at the Moscow airport: departure was postponed by a day. Then 12 hours to Cairo, a refuelling stop, and back into the sky. By the time the Russian delegation arrived in Tanzania, they had been on their feet for more than 24 hours.

On board was one of the most substantial negotiating delegations in recent times: senior officials from federal ministries, senior managers of Russia’s largest banks, regional officials, and entrepreneurs — people prepared to speak openly, negotiate seriously, and develop the 'dark continent' on mutually beneficial and honest terms.

The visit to Arusha — a city in northern Tanzania at the foot of Kilimanjaro and Mount Meru — was planned as short but maximally packed. Just two days, 15 and 16 May, and two major events: the Second Russia-Tanzania Business Forum and a session of the Intergovernmental Russia-Tanzania Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation. Leading the Russian 'business landing party': Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov. From the Tanzanian side: State Minister for Planning and Investment in the President’s Office, Kitila Alexander Mkumbo.

Kilimanjaro Airport greeted us with something close to spa-level relaxation: low-rise buildings with wooden finishes, soft light, air still damp after rain. While visas were processed the host side struck up the drums — white costumes, drawn-out calls, traditional dances. The rhythm gradually drove out the fatigue. Then came the rain — brief, warm, almost ceremonial. By folk belief, being caught by rain while travelling brings luck. Well, we would see.

The drive from the airport to Arusha took around 40 minutes. Through the bus windows: the 'ungroomed', real Tanzania — roadside stalls, motorcycles (the main mode of transport here), people walking along the highway. Children stop and wave at the delegation. Two enormous buses of foreigners — an unusual spectacle for locals. The glances: attentive, open, sometimes surprised. No wariness, no distance. Just genuine curiosity.

Arusha turned out to be compact, characterful, with its own unhurried rhythm. More than 600,000 residents — yet the central streets feel intimate. Shopfronts, coffee and souvenir stalls, unhurried passers-by. In four hours you can cover the centre thoroughly. Time flows differently here.

There was no rest after check-in. The programme had been rescheduled and the delegation was immediately taken to the business forum venue. Marquees, negotiation zones, street kitchens — a blend of formality and near-festive atmosphere. It was perhaps the biggest surprise of all: despite most of us having been on our feet for more than 24 hours, no one thought to mention fatigue.

Maxim Reshetnikov was received with genuine African flair — dancing with drums, this time in red costumes.

Hapa kazi tu — 'Here it’s work only' in Swahili: no idle talk, let’s get down to business" — said Reshetnikov from the podium, in Swahili. The phrase can be rendered as: 'Less talk, more action.' It has every chance of becoming a motto not only for this forum but for every gathering of its kind.

The Russian side is viewing the future of relations with Tanzania with great optimism. Bilateral trade grew by nearly 20 percent in 2025. For the first time in a long while, trial container shipments have been launched on the Novorossiysk-Dar es Salaam route.

Russia is ready to contribute to the transformation of Tanzania’s economy — we see serious prospects in agriculture, pharmaceuticals, and energy — stated Reshetnikov, backing his words with official figures: a 25 percent export increase driven by wheat and fertilisers.

But the centrepiece is uranium. Rosatom, through its subsidiary, has already launched a pilot uranium processing unit at the Mantra project. Ahead lies the construction of the main processing plant with a capacity of up to 3,000 tonnes per year, scheduled to launch in 2029.

We have a number of key mega-projects here, the principal of which is Mantra — a uranium deposit development project that leads to the development of an entire surrounding region

The Nyota deposit being developed by Rosatom is one of the largest in the region. The ore grade is low — just 0.025 percent uranium — but the scale more than compensates: reserves exceed 152 million tonnes of ore.

After the official programme the first day flowed into informal conversation. Those who still had energy set off around Arusha. The main trophy: Kilimanjaro-foothills Tanzanian coffee. In the small coffee shops the sellers will happily describe varieties and roasting profiles for hours. Several kilograms of arabica disappeared into delegation members' bags in no time.

'Karibu' ('welcome' in Swahili) was the answer to every 'thank you'. English is reasonably well spoken here. The international dialogue the forum had spent so much time discussing continued at street markets — conversations over coffee, souvenirs, safari hats. Speaking of safaris: part of the group chose exactly that activity for the evening. Late that night they returned with stories of zebras crossing the road, hyenas, and Russian-speaking guides. Russian is still a curiosity for locals, but already feels like something that makes perfect sense.

Next morning the programme started early. Where the first day had been more forum-like — presentations and ceremonies — the second was conducted in an atmosphere of official rigour. Delegations sat facing each other; discussion proceeded by sector, in detail and with force. Reshetnikov thanked the Tanzanians for their warm reception and recalled the upcoming visit of President Samia Suluhu Hassan (Tanzania's sixth President, in office since 2021 — the first woman to hold the post) to Russia in early June — a visit expected to give further momentum to cooperation.

Over the past two years the Russia-Tanzania intergovernmental commission has become a genuine instrument rather than merely a coordination platform, noted the head of the Russian delegation. Trade growth and joint projects in energy, logistics, pharmaceuticals, and education — the results for such a short period are impressive. There are concrete plans in civil aviation:

We are genuinely in negotiations. There is an option for direct flights, or flights with a stopover in a third country. There are issues to resolve — insurance and so on — but these are problems that have already been solved for many countries, and they will be solved here — Reshetnikov told journalists on the sidelines. For tourism this would be a breakthrough: the number of Russian trips to Tanzania grew nearly 40 percent in 2025, to 17,000.

"Another priority is pharmaceuticals. The Buryat company Rapid Bio (a resident of Skolkovo Innovation Centre) is localising the production of rapid diagnostic tests for infectious diseases in Tanzania. Launch is expected by year-end; at full capacity the facility will produce up to 20 million tests per year. For Tanzania: a strengthened healthcare system. For Russia: a model of genuine localisation, not just supply.

"Progress in agriculture too: Russia is ready to increase supplies of grain, sunflower oil, and fertilisers. The Ministry of Agriculture noted particular potential in plant selection — for maize, soybeans, wheat, and potatoes. Bashkortostan (the Republic of Bashkortostan, a major industrial federal subject of Russia with its capital Ufa) also made its mark: the republic’s companies proposed delivering electric buses for Dar es Salaam and Arusha, drilling equipment, specialist machinery — and even barley for beer.

When the programme ended participants boarded the buses for the return to Kilimanjaro Airport. The city seemed to be sending off the delegation even more warmly than it had welcomed it: children waved along the road, people smiled. There was nothing official in those gestures — just a sense of acceptance and interest. Then came the plane, Cairo again, the long way home. But circumstances intervened. Due to restrictions at Moscow airports the aircraft was landed in St. Petersburg, and the journey to the capital had to be completed by train. A short trip became a little longer still — the return journey its own adventure.