Tanzania's President Samia Suluhu Hassan began a three-day visit to Russia on Wednesday, meeting President Vladimir Putin.

During a televised meeting with Putin in the Kremlin, Hassan described her trip to Russia as "historic."

Putin said he was pleased to see Hassan in Russia and called for the two countries to "increase trade."

Bilateral trade currently stands at just over $307 million annually, and the two countries' major joint project is a planned uranium mine that has been on the drawing board for more than a decade.

Trade, tourism, and mineral deals

A Russia-Tanzania Business Council was created in January and last month Air Tanzania announced the launch of flights from Dar es Salaam to Moscow by the end of the year.

Hassan has brought a business delegation to Moscow and hopes to cement deals in trade, tourism and minerals.

Her state visit to Russia is the first by a Tanzanian president since the country's founding father, Julius Nyerere, travelled there in October 1969.

Hassan's visit coincides with the 2026 St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), which the Kremlin says has attracted approximately 20,000 people from more than 100 countries. The official dates for SPIEF are June 3 to 6.