This thesis examines bilateral development cooperation between Finland and Tanzania, and more specifically Finland's interests in development cooperation with Tanzania. Finland's development policy is part of its foreign and security policy. Through its own foreign policy, Finland has the opportunity and ability to influence the future of Tanzania and thus also of Africa. The possible slide of Finland's development partners towards more authoritarian models of society makes it more difficult for Finland to achieve its objectives of building more permanent, sustainable, and economically coherent relations with these countries. Liberal democratic states favour other liberal democratic states in foreign policy, and liberal democratic states do not form such deep and interdependent relationships with authoritarian states. This thesis examines how geopolitical interests and values in Tanzania influence Finland's development cooperation and policy there. The material for the thesis consists of three publications of the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs: “The Country programme for development cooperation Tanzania 2021-2024”, “Finland's country strategy for Tanzania 2021-2024”, and Finland's Africa strategy. The methods used are theory-bound content analysis and thematic interviews. The results of the study show that in the broader foreign and security policy and geopolitical context, Finland relies heavily on the European Union. Finland's geopolitical interests include efforts to ensure continuity in foreign and development policy between Finland and Tanzania. Finland also seeks to ensure that Tanzania does not slide towards a more authoritarian regime and that Tanzania does not become a security risk for Finland and Europe. It is important for Finland that Tanzania works together with Finland in the fight against climate change and loss of nature. According to the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Africa is the subject of a growing foreign policy struggle in which various foreign policy actors in Africa and outside Africa are seeking to form partnerships with actors in the region. In the discourse on development cooperation between Finland and Tanzania, the emphasis is more on value politics and more concrete solutions and visions for improving the effectiveness of development cooperation and achieving its objectives. In the discourse of Finland's relations with Africa, more emphasis is placed on traditional foreign and security policy phenomena. The objective of Finland's development policy is to prevent unstable and unpeaceful actors from becoming development policy partners in the future