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New envoys pledge to further deepen bilateral ties with Rwanda

By Jane Babirye
On 30 August 2023 at 04:44

On August 29th, 2012, President Paul Kagame received credentials from 12 ambassadors accredited to Rwanda who committed to further strengthen bilateral relations with Rwanda.

Among these was Ronald Micallef, the High Commissioner of the Republic of Malta, who stated that Malta’s decision to strengthen ties with Rwanda was made in January 2021 when the former launched the ’strategy of Africa’, identifying countries to work with.

Rwanda appeared on the list distinctly because both countries are small in size yet have a ’big’ voice, members of the Commonwealth, and look greatly to the future.

Micallef said they wish to amplify that voice in partnership with Rwanda through trade.

"In the last 12 months, we have established two multi-million-dollar companies that are already in operation here and have provided 130 jobs. The ambition is to go beyond that with two more companies in the field of tourism," he stated.

Mesfin Gebremariam Shawo, the Ambassador of Ethiopia, recalled the relationship between his country and Rwanda that dates as far back as 1994 when Ethiopian troops came for peacekeeping missions in Rwanda.

Ethiopia established its embassy in Rwanda in 2017 and in 2019, diplomatic relations were officiated.

In 2012, both nations established a partnership and have held a couple of joint meetings which have led to the signing of a lot of memorandums of understanding (MOUs) and agreements.

Korea was represented by Ambassador Jeong Woo-Jin. He has been in Rwanda for two months and was attracted by the country’s charm and its people.

Woo-Jin said Korea was once a very poor and recipient country, but within one generation, it became a provider country in development and cooperation.

He thus pledged to be supportive of Rwanda’s journey to growth in areas of corporation, particularly in Information, Communication, and Technology (ICT), Agriculture, and Education.

"Rwanda has become an example of development cooperation; they have a very effective, transparent, and efficient government, and as an ambassador, I’m pleased to render support," he noted.

The Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany, Heike Uta Dettmann, expressed sincere gratitude to the president for being kind and talking nicely about bilateral relations.

She vowed to be committed and work hard to strengthen the relations between Rwanda and Germany, noting that there’s a ’multitude and real wealth of connections’ between the two countries.

"I’m discovering what’s going on and look forward to seeing everything in this beautiful country," she stated.

Pakistan, through Naeem Ullah Khan, the High Commissioner of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, stressed that they want to improve relations in the areas of health by training Rwandan doctors and nurses in Pakistan, while in turn, they learn from the health experiences in Rwanda.

In addition, he said Pakistan wants to connect Rwanda to exporters through establishing a free trade zone in Rwanda for Pakistan investors.

"Pakistan has 240 million people; this is a huge number for Rwandan products. For example, 70% of Rwandan tea goes to Pakistan," he mentioned.

Among others; Elnat Weiss, Ambassador of the State of Israel, expressed her privilege to present credentials. She noted that Israel hopes to make the Cyber-tech conference an annual thing in Rwanda as a way of developing Agriculture, Education, and Innovation among the two countries.

Matthews Jere, the High Commissioner of the Republic of Zambia, said that the presenting of his credentials reaffirms the commitment of Zambia to enhancing cooperation and deeper understanding with Rwanda.

"President Kagame has visited Zambia on two accounts, and so has the president of Zambia come to Rwanda. The visits resulted in the signing of seven MOUs in the fields of; Trade, Investment, Health, Agriculture and Technology, among others," he remarked.

Stating that Rwanda is his second home, Mandi Solomon Diamini, High Commissioner of the Kingdom of Eswatini, stressed that his 10 years in office will be to ensure that matters of mutual benefit between his state and Rwanda are improved from good to excellent.

Other Ambassadors included; Majid Saffar, the ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran and Mohammed Mellah, Ambassador of the People’s Democratic Republic of Angola.


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