DAR ES SALAAM, Jan. 25 (Xinhua) -- Tanzanian President John Magufuli on Monday announced amnesty to 1,789 Ethiopian illegal immigrants serving jail terms in the East African nation.
Magufuli announced the amnesty at the end of talks with visiting Ethiopian President Sahle-Work Zewde held in Chato district in Geita region.
"The jailed Ethiopian illegal immigrants, some are serving up to seven-year terms, will be released without any conditions," Magufuli told a televised joint news conference.
He said the Ethiopian illegal immigrants should go home and participate in nation-building.
Magufuli said the two leaders agreed to revive the Joint Permanent Commission of Cooperation created in 2017 with a view to reviewing areas of cooperation so as to make them more vibrant.
The Ethiopian President Zewde thanked Tanzania for releasing the convicted illegal immigrants, saying "we will make arrangements with the Ethiopian embassy in Tanzania to repatriate the freed immigrants."
Zewde, who was on a one-day official visit to Tanzania, said the two leaders also discussed new areas of cooperation between their two countries in order to fill existing gaps in business and investment.
"Ethiopia is ready to do business with Tanzania. We want to bring our cooperation to the next level," said Zewde.
According to Tanzanian Minister for Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation, Palamagamba Kabudi, trade volume between the two countries increased from 1.5 billion Tanzanian shillings (about 650,000 U.S. dollars) in 2012 to 13.5 billion shillings in 2019.
The Tanzania Investment Center has registered 13 investment projects from Ethiopia worth 14.57 million U.S. dollars from 1990 to 2020, creating 677 employment opportunities for Tanzanians, said Kabudi. The investment projects range from manufacturing, air transportation, to tourism. Enditem