The Turkish embassy in Dar es Salaam first opened in 1979,[1] although the Ottoman Empire had previously opened a consulate in Zanzibar, now a part of Tanzania, on March 17, 1837.

[1] Turkey had friendly relations[2] with Tanzania under the founding president Julius Nyerere, who cooperated with Turkey in opposing colonialism[2] and apartheid[2] in Africa.

The relations became cooler[3] when Julius Nyerere allowed Che Guevera[3] to use Tanzania during his failed intervention in the Congolese civil war.

[3] After Julius Nyerere’s retirement, relations with Tanzania improved[3] because of Tanzania's progress in democratization[3] and social progress.

Tanzania donated $1 million (Sh2.3 billion) for humanitarian aid to earthquake victims in Turkey and Syria as a return to Turkey for being an initiator in the Tanzania standard gauge railway project.