In this photograph taken by the Indian Press Information Bureau (PIB) dated July 10, 2016, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi reviews a ceremonial welcome at the State House in Dar es Salaam. (PHOTO / AFP)

DAR ES SALAAM — Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan has announced that her country and India have agreed to raise the historic bilateral relations between the two nations to a strategic partnership level, the presidency said Monday.

A statement by the Directorate of Presidential Communications said Hassan's four-day state visit to India, which started on Sunday, underscores her government's commitment to enhancing and deepening the friendship and bilateral cooperation between Tanzania and India, which has been in existence for decades.

Hassan said trade and investment volumes between the two nations were on an upward trajectory, adding that up to 2022

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Hassan said candid and amicable discussions with her host Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighted a mutual passion and commitment from both sides to solidify and scale up the bilateral relations to greater heights.

"We have agreed to open new avenues of cooperation as well as scaling up our cooperation to a strategic partnership framework," she said in a joint press briefing with Modi after their bilateral talks.

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Hassan said trade and investment volumes between the two nations were on an upward trajectory, adding that up to 2022, trade figures between the two countries were $3.1 billion, making India the third-largest trading partner in Tanzania and the fifth-largest investor in the country.