On Thursday 12th January 2022, Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu who is on a visit to Rwanda held talks with his counterpart , Dr. Vincent Biruta.

Çavuşoğlu participated in the talks after visiting Kigali Genocide Memorial located in Gisozi where over 250,000 victims of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi are laid to rest.

Minister Biruta said that both countries enjoy fruitful cooperation through the signed agreements.

He disclosed that both countries have already signed 21 agreements as at today morning in different areas including trade, investment, security, defence, education, visa exemption, culture and diplomacy.

Dr. Biruta commended Türkiye for continuous support to Rwanda where it has 250 students studying in the country of whom 81 benefit from Turkish scholarship.

He also appreciated the booming bilateral trade volume which increased nearly fivefold from US$31 million in 2019 to US$178 million in 2022.

Today, Rwanda registers Turkish investments worth over US$500 million in the fields of industry, construction and hospitality among others.

Some of mega projects executed by Turkish firms include the construction of Kigali Convention Centre, BK Arena and the ongoing renovation of Amahoro Stadium.

Minister Biruta said that both countries have committed to strengthen cooperation and signed three new agreements in General Cooperation, Science, Technology and Innovation as well as Culture.

On his part, Minister Çavuşoğlu commended Rwanda’s development pace despite its dark history which he was taken through during his visit to Kigali Genocide Memorial.

He highlighted that he held productive discussions with his counterpart of Rwanda on many issues of bilateral relations engagements in the economy, investment, energy, defence, culture and education.

“With the general cooperation we have just signed, we will form a joint permanent commission which will be another mechanism where the two countries can assess all aspects of engagement,” he said.

Rwanda and Türkiye enjoy vibrant relations and are connected through daily flights operated by Turkish Airlines.

Minister Biruta (right) and his counterpart of Turkey have signed three new cooperation agreements on behalf of both countries.