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Four African nations to discuss joint gas exploration in Lake Tanganyika

Xinhua, February 9, 2017 Adjust font size:

A Tanzanian cabinet minister said Wednesday four countries sharing Lake Tanganyika Basin will next week discuss a joint exploration of oil and gas in the world's second deepest lake.

Sospeter Muhongo, the East African nation's Minister for Energy and Minerals, told Parliament in the political capital Dodoma that the meeting will be held in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

"There are traces of oil and gas in the lake and the meeting is aimed at harmonizing exploration efforts and avoid conflicts over the resources," Muhongo said.

He said the meeting will take place in the DRC's lake town of Kalemi and Tanzania will be represented by Deputy Minister for Energy and Minerals Medard Kalemani.

Lake Tanganyika is jointly shared by Tanzania, DRC, Zambia and Burundi.

In October 2016, Tanzania and DRC signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for joint oil and gas exploration in and along Lake Tanganyika.

Tanzanian President John Magufuli said the MoU was another milestone in the bilateral ties between the two countries, saying that it was through such deals that African countries can tap and make use of their economic potentials. Endit