Chinese equipment donation helps Tanzania enhance research in Great Lakes

DAR ES SALAAM, April 13 (Xinhua) -- China on Wednesday donated research equipment to Tanzania to enhance research in the Great Lakes.

The equipment was handed over by Zhang Ganlin, director general of the Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, to Ismael Kimirei, director general of the Tanzania Fisheries Research Institute (TAFIRI).

After the handing-over ceremony held at the TAFIRI headquarters on the shores of the Indian Ocean in Dar es Salaam, Zhang and Kimirei signed a memorandum of understanding witnessed by senior officials from the Chinese embassy and the Tanzanian government.

Mohammed Sheikh, director of the Research, Training and Extension Department in the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries, said the research equipment, including instruments and laboratory consumables, will be used to find solutions to eco-environment and water security in the lakes of Tanganyika, Victoria, and Nyasa.

"The research equipment will help Tanzania in generating data that will support the management of the lakes," said Sheikh, adding that the equipment was worth 200,000 U.S. dollars.

Rikizi Shemdoe, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries, expressed his gratitude for the significant assistance to the TAFIRI and, by extension, to all the researchers and students who will use the equipment to advance research and learning.