TANZANIA'S UNDERSTATED ROLE IN THE DRC

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KINSHASA 000785 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/19/2018 TAGS: PGOV PREL ECON ETRD CG TZ SUBJECT: TANZANIA'S UNDERSTATED ROLE IN THE DRC REF: A) IIR 6 959 0112 06 B) 07 DAR ES SALAAM 1215 C) KINSHASA 570 Classified By: Ambassador William Garvelink for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary: The Government of Tanzania plays a quiet, but useful, role in facilitating a peaceful resolution of the conflict in the DRC's East. The reasons behind this are likely connected to Tanzania's historical connections to the Kabila family, refugee issues, and economic interests. Increasing stability in border areas with Tanzania has accelerated commercial ties between the two countries. Tanzanian units reportedly make up a part of the GDRC's inner circle of Presidential Guard. The GoT's strategy with respect to the DRC does not appear to be as well defined as other countries in the region, such as Angola or South Africa. In general, Tanzania's actions to support its foreign policy goals in the DRC occur behind the scenes. End Summary. Ties with the Kabila Family -------------- ¶2. (C) As is well-known, President Kabila spent a number of years in exile in Tanzania with his family. According to a MONUC contact, this resulted in ties of friendship and trust between the Kabila family and Tanzanian elites, which manifest themselves in a number of ways. Tanzania gave political support to the Kabilas during the DRC wars and, concurrently, appears to have a more strained relationship with Rwanda. Ref A noted that Tanzania refused to train the Rwandan Army because of the GoT's close ties with the GDRC (Note: This was training in the context of bilateral military training among East African Community member states. End Note). In Kinshasa, there are persistent rumors that members of the DRC Presidential Guard include Tanzanians. ¶3. (C) Tanzanian President Kikwete was reportedly concerned that Rwanda was supporting Congolese rebel leader Laurent Nkunda (ref B). The GDRC apparently approached the Tanzanian Embassy in Kinshasa to request help in halting Rwandan support for Nkunda. While there is no further information as to what, if anything, the GoT did to fulfill this request, it demonstrates the trust that the GDRC places in Tanzania. However, there is no formal military agreement between the two countries, according to a MONUC official. The Regional View -------------- ¶4. (C) Tanzania has played a key role in a number of regional peace initiatives involving the DRC, which indicates the GoT might want to assume a greater regional role. For example, Tanzania hosted the September 2007 summit between Presidents Museveni and Kabila, which resulted in the Ngurdoto Agreement. This agreement included provisions for border demarcation between Uganda and the DRC, cooperation on oil exploration, and cooperation in the fight against the LRA. Tanzania also hosted another summit between the two Presidents in May 2008, and was a founder of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR). Questions of Stability -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Tanzania continues to host approximately 94,000 refugees (ref C). In January 2005, the UNHCR and the Governments of the DRC and Tanzania signed a tripartite agreement, leading to the first organized return of refugees in October 2005. The aim of repatriating these refugees likely contributes to Tanzanian interest in regime stability in the DRC. Economic Ties -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Economic links also play a role in Tanzania's interest in the DRC. DRC-Tanzanian trade remains small and largely informal, but it is growing significantly, as the situation in Eastern Congo along the Tanzanian border stabilizes, according to a Tanzanian Embassy official in Kinshasa. Dar es Salaam is a major port for import and KINSHASA 00000785 002 OF 002 export and there is a large amount of trade across Lake Tanganyika. However, the majority of trade--even in the formal sector--passes through Rwanda on the way to Dar es Salaam. Increased transportation access to the DRC could therefore help boost Tanzanian growth. ¶7. (SBU) A Central Transport project, initiated by the GoT and supported by the World Bank and other donors, will upgrade key transportation routes in Tanzania. One of the goals of the project is to strengthen the commercial link between Eastern DRC and port of Dar es Salaam. The GDRC apparently views this as a positive step to increase its trade to East Africa, thus presenting an alternative to overland transport through Rwanda and Uganda. GARVELINK