28 October 2003

Distinguished Host John Kowero, the Principal of the Dar es Salaam Institute of Technology
Academic and non-academic staff of the Institute

Ladies and Gentlemen,

First of all thank you for the very warm welcome. It’s a great honour for me to visit the Dar es Salaam Institute and I am very grateful for the programme you have arranged for me. I am very much looking forward to visit the various departments and get an overall view of the work and activities of the Institute.

As you know, Sweden has supported Tanzania in many fields but with a particular focus on poverty eradication. Sweden is committed to continued support to Tanzanian efforts in eradicating poverty and meet the millennium development goals as agreed internationally. It is a big task for Tanzania together with its partners in development like us Sweden. In order to meet these goals, accelerated economic growth is needed. All institutions in Tanzania are involved in this task. It is therefore encouraging to learn that DIT is applying a national development perspective.

Technology is not only what comes out of the renowned research institutes or large corporations in the West but it is also how to make best use of available technical knowledge in order to serve the needs of people for example in Africa or Tanzania. I am convinced that Institutes like DIT has a very important role to play in this and has interesting challenges ahead.

The Swedish Embassy is very pleased to be associated with the DIT and the projects supported by Sweden. We are pleased to contribute to make these projects successful and, please, do not hesitate to contact us on issues regarding our ongoing and continued cooperation.

I would like to conclude by thanking you for inviting and receiving me here today.
I would also like to wish you every success in your endeavours.

Thank you.