His Excellency Dr. Habib Kambanga, High Commissioner of the United Republic of Tanzania to Rwanda on Thursday visited the Rusumo One Stop Border Post (OSBP) between Tanzania and Rwanda where he held a  consultative meeting with various operations stakeholders, highlighting the role of the post in economic diplomacy between  Tanzania and Rwanda through trade and transport sectors.  To date, OSBPs remain one of  Tanzania's most effective economic diplomacy tool as they elevate borders from mere checkpoints into trade agreements in a more  concrete form.  Tanzania continues to capitalize on the OSBPSs to make Dar es Salaam Port the preferred gateway for 8 landlocked neighboring countries. The EAC estimates OSBPs cut crossing time by 70-80% and transport costs by 25-30%, both important recipes in increasing the ease of doing business across countries.

In his remarks during the meeting, Ambassador Kambanga received an implementation report update showing that  Rusumo One Stop Border Post now serves 4 ports. These include Dar es Salaam, Tanga, Mtwara and Mombasa ports. It is estimated that currently, the border serves between 500- 900 passengers and cargo vehicles daily up from the 250 vehicles target set in 2016 when the post was constructed.  Further, the meeting was informed that during the financial year 2025/2026,  Tanzania set the revenue target at Tanzanian Shillings 52.4 billion through the post. However, the target was surpassed with the government earning 57.6 billion Tanzania shillings in the most recent estimates. It is expected that, revenues generated from the post will further raise once the Rusumo - Lusahunga road construction is concluded.

In his remarks, Ambassador Kambanga further  urged the border officials to continue working  diligently and professionally as they remain an essential part of  mobility of people, goods and services from Tanzania to the neighboring countries. He pointed out that all of the border officials are a critical part of the full implementation of economic diplomacy, also stressing that their hard work is the essence of the government achieving its targets.  By making that corridor faster and cheaper, Tanzania continues to cement operations in the supply chain from its ports such as Dar es salaam, Tanga and Mtwara .  Currently, Tanzania  has 12 OSBPs including Rusumo (Rwanda), Mtukula (Uganda), Kabanga (Burundi), Tunduma (Zambia), Namanga (Kenya), Holili/Taveta (Kenya), Horohoro/Lunga Lunga (Kenya), and Sirari (Kenya).

Rusumo remains an important post for Tanzania, Rwanda, DRC and Burundi as it’s the exit point for cargo from Dar es Salaam Port,  thus a clear revenue-generating diplomacy tool for the country. Under the EAC OSBP Act 2016, exit and entry points are in one building, one stop, officers from both countries side-by-side, one set of documents, joint inspection.