President Samia Suluhu Hassan of Tanzania has held high level talks with President and Chief Executive of Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, on a major expansion of the Group’s investments in Tanzania, with discussions focusing on transport infrastructure, fertiliser production, power generation, ports and regional trade.

The meeting, held at the State House in Dar es Salaam, reaffirmed the long-standing partnership between Tanzania and the Dangote Group while opening discussions on a new phase of investments aligned with the country’s industrialisation and economic transformation agenda.

Speaking after the meeting, Dangote said Tanzania remains one of Africa’s most attractive investment destinations, noting that the Group had identified several strategic sectors capable of delivering significant economic value.

“We have identified areas that can deliver significant value for Tanzania, and we are ready to work together to develop them for our mutual benefit,” he said.

The discussions covered a broad range of projects, including port development, the construction of a 40-kilometre concrete access road to support port operations, development of a special trade zone, a proposed 2,000-megawatt coal fired power plant, a urea fertiliser plant and transport infrastructure linking Mtwara with Mbamba Bay in southern Tanzania.

Dangote also explained the commercial and technical considerations behind the Group’s decision to locate its planned East African refinery in Lamu, Kenya, while extending an invitation to the Government of Tanzania to participate in the investment.

President Samia welcomed the Dangote Group’s continued confidence in Tanzania and directed relevant ministries and government agencies to commence detailed technical discussions on the proposed investments in line with the country’s legal, policy and development priorities.

She also appointed the Minister of Planning and Investment to coordinate the strategic partnership with Dangote Industries Limited, with both sides expected to begin formal negotiations in the coming days.

A Tanzanian government delegation led by the Minister is expected to visit Nigeria to advance discussions and develop implementation frameworks for the proposed projects.

According to a statement from the Directorate of Presidential Communications, the Government remains committed to strengthening partnerships with the private sector as part of efforts to mobilise productive investment, accelerate industrialisation, promote technology transfer, and create sustainable employment opportunities.

Dangote Industries already operates one of Tanzania’s largest industrial investments through its $500 million cement plant in Mtwara, which has an annual production capacity of three million tonnes and supplies both the domestic market and neighbouring countries.

The latest engagement deepens the partnership between Tanzania and the Dangote Group and reinforces the company’s position as one of Africa’s leading private sector investors driving regional industrialisation, infrastructure development, and economic integration.

To compliment its crude oil requirement volume, Dangote Refinery has purchased two cargoes of the commodity from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), marking its entry into the Middle Eastern crude market. The purchase underscores the refinery’s strategy to diversify supply ahead of its planned expansion to 1.4 million barrels per day.

According to S&P Global Commodity Insights, the purchase represents a significant shift for the refinery, which has traditionally sourced crude from the country, other African producers and the United States.

Although the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) supplies between 13 and 15 cargoes of crude monthly to Dangote under the federal government’s naira-for-crude arrangement, the refinery has increasingly turned to overseas suppliers because of insufficient domestic crude availability and operational bottlenecks at export terminals.

The latest purchase also follows improved stability in Middle Eastern oil exports after shipping through the Strait of Hormuz normalised following the easing of tensions between the United States and Iran, improving the availability of Gulf crude in international markets.

The diversification reflects both operational flexibility and commercial strategy. Middle Eastern crude grades are generally heavier than Nigeria’s light sweet blends and can improve refinery economics when blended with lighter barrels, giving refiners greater flexibility to optimise yields of diesel, jet fuel and other petroleum products.

The development comes despite gradual improvements in Nigeria’s oil production. According to OPEC’s latest Monthly Oil Market Report, Nigeria produced about 1.5 million barrels of crude oil per day in May, remaining below levels needed to comfortably meet export commitments while supplying growing domestic refining demand.

The Chief Executive Officer, Dangote Refinery, David Bird, had previously acknowledged that inadequate crude availability had compelled the refinery to source additional supplies from international markets.

“We definitely want to heavy up the barrel. We will be in the crude blending game. So you can easily imagine that at 1.4 million barrels per day we could process 30 per cent Middle Eastern grades on each train,” Bird said.

According to S&P Global Commodities at Sea data, about 70 per cent of the refinery’s crude imports in 2025 originated from Nigeria, while 24 per cent came from the United States.

According to sources in the facility, the refinery’s first purchase of Middle Eastern crude marks more than a routine cargo acquisition; it signals a strategic shift towards a more diversified global sourcing model.

Nigeria has laid down a definitive marker in its quest to break its age-old dependence on crude oil, receiving a comprehensive blueprint designed to spark a multi-billion-dollar critical minerals revolution.

The roadmap, titled “Report Charts Course for Nigeria’s Critical Minerals Revolution”, was formally presented to the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, at the just concluded 5th African Natural Resources and Energy Investment Summit (AFNIS 2026) in Abuja.

Prepared by the Council for Critical Minerals Development in the Global South, the report outlines practical policy shifts to reform governance, attract ethical foreign investment, and aggressively pursue local processing over the traditional export of raw materials.

Receiving the document, Alake hailed the report as a vital catalyst that directly aligns with the federal government’s economic agenda.

“This is a highly strategic document,” Alake stated. “It perfectly aligns with the Federal Government’s vision of transforming Nigeria’s vast mineral endowment into an active catalyst for industrial development, value addition, job creation, and sustainable economic growth.”

Nigeria sits on massive, largely untapped deposits of high-value strategic minerals—such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, graphite, and rare earth elements—which are universally essential for manufacturing clean energy technologies like electric vehicles and solar batteries.

The Minister emphasized that the era of shipping raw wealth out of the country without domestic benefit is coming to an end.

“Our absolute priority right now is value addition,” Alake stressed. “The government is systematically restructuring this sector to ensure these strategic resources generate maximum domestic value through local processing and manufacturing, rather than the historic, low-yield practice of exporting raw minerals.”

The minister further noted that the report’s recommendations would directly reinforce ongoing institutional shake-ups aimed at making Nigeria an attractive hub for global clean energy investors.

“The ministry remains fully committed to implementing policies that encourage responsible mining practices, tighten regulatory oversight, and deeply improve investor confidence,” Alake said.

Adding that, “This report will serve as an essential reference document as we continue executing the reforms designed to position Nigeria as the preferred global destination for critical mineral value chains.”

Lauding the authors of the blueprint, Alake said, “I must commend the Council for Critical Minerals Development in the Global South for producing such a comprehensive piece of work. They have provided highly practical recommendations for developing the sector while strictly balancing environmental sustainability and inclusive economic growth.”

The presentation marked the high point of the just concluded AFNIS 2026, which brought together a high-level assembly of continental policymakers, mining executives, and development financiers to hammer out strategies for safeguarding Africa’s energy security and driving industrial growth.