Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu has arrived in Kenya at the start of a two-day state visit, which analysts say is aimed at ending frosty relations.

She is expected to speak publicly alongside host President Uhuru Kenyatta at State House in the capital, Nairobi.

President Samia will also address a joint sitting of Kenya’s Parliament on Wednesday.

The visit is seen as an effort to improve relations between the two east African countries, fuelled by economic competition and which escalated under the administration of the late Tanzanian President John Magufuli.

He died in office in March.

Kenya had also been uneasy over Tanzania’s lack of a Covid-19 response plan. Failure to agree on Covid-19 protocols at border points led the two countries imposing tariffs on each other’s goods. In retaliation, Tanzania barred four Kenya airlines, including Kenya Airways, from its airspace.

However, since she took office President Samia has shifted the approach to Covid-19, picking a task force to advise on Tanzania’s response to the pandemic.