Smiles in the absence of Tanzanian President John Magufuli absent from the conference on the blue economy in Nairobi :: Kenya

The absence of Tanzanian President John Pombe Magufuli at the Conference on the Blue Economy in Nairobi has again raised eyebrows.

The absence of Magufuli at the Conference on the Blue Economy, however, goes in the direction of his disdain for conferences, which he cut to the bare minimum, in terms of tight budget in Tanzania.

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He is the only East African state leader missing in the negotiations. Yoweri Museveni (Uganda), Mohammed Farmaajo (Somalia), Paul Kagame (Rwanda), Filipe Nyusi (Mozambique) and Danny Faure (Seychelles) introduced themselves.

The Blue Economy Conference officially kicked off on Monday with the participation of several heads of state. More than 183 countries sent delegates, bringing the number of participants to more than 17,600.

The absence of Magufuli leaves many people wondering whether the somewhat lukewarm diplomatic relations between Kenya and Tanzania may explain his decision not to participate in the conference jointly organized by Kenya, Canada and Japan.

The conference aims to promote the sustainable use of seas, lakes and oceans and their resources for sustainable economic development.

It should be noted that Magufuli did not attend the first and second inauguration of President Uhuru in 2012 and 2017 respectively.

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Kenya and Tanzania have been at odds since Nairobi protested, through diplomatic channels, against Tanzania's alleged organization of a polling center linked to Raila Odinga, led by NASA.

In November 2017, President Magufuli caused a diplomatic stir when his government auctioned over 1,000 cows belonging to Kenyan Maasai pastoralists grazing on the Tanzanian border. The Magufuli government also burned 6,400 chicks imported from Kenya, claiming that they were infected with bird flu.

Nairobi called Magufuli hostile action, while the Tanzanian president pledged to auction and confiscate livestock that crossed the border without permission.

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"Tanzania can not feed animals from other countries and that's why we said we would act according to the law," said Magufuli, adding, "We want to tell our neighbors to take measures according to their laws, laws once our animals graze in their countries ".

In December 2015, Magufuli banned Brookside Dairy from operating in Arusha, Tanzania.

Addressing the Tanzanian Private Sector Foundation, he stated that it was not fair that Brookside Dairy Limited collect milk from Tanzania, process it in Kenya and then resell it in Tanzania .

"How many dairy companies in our society do we work in? Why does the Brookside Company collect milk from Arusha farmers, transporting it to Kenya for processing and then bringing it back for sale?" more "he told business people.