Kamala Harris, first female US VP, congratulates Tanzania's first woman president

US Vice-President Kamala Harris on Saturday congratulated Tanzania's new president Samia Suluhu Hassan, the first woman to hold that office, and said the United States was ready to strengthen ties between the two countries.

Harris, the first woman and first person of colour to serve as US vice-president, took to Twitter to shower praise and support for Hassan.

"Sending best wishes to @SuluhuSamia following her swearing in as Tanzania's new President - the first woman to hold the office. The United States stands ready to work with you to strengthen relations between our countries," she wrote.

Hassan, who had been vice-president since 2015, on Friday urged the country to unite and avoid pointing fingers after the death of John Magufuli, her COVID-19 sceptic predecessor.

Hassan, 61, was sworn in at State House in the country’s commercial capital Dar es Salaam on March 19. She assumes the presidency following announcement of the death of Magufuli, after a more than a two-week absence from public life that drew speculation about his health.

Also read | Tanzania swears in Samia Suluhu Hassan as first female president

Total trade between the two countries was $462 million in 2019. US foreign direct investment (FDI) in Tanzania was $1.5 billion in 2019, a 5.2 per cent increase from 2018.

The US Trade Representative's office is leading US efforts to forge a new trade and investment partnership with the East African Community, a regional organisation that includes Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.

Hassan's leadership style is seen as a potential contrast from Magufuli, a brash populist who earned the nickname ‘Bulldozer’ for muscling through policies and who drew criticism for his intolerance of dissent, which his government denied.