India, Rwanda sign 8 MoUs

 ​Kigali/New Delhi: India and Rwanda reviewed their entire gamut of bilateral ties and signed eight agreements across different sectors during the course of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two-day visit to the East African nation, the External Affairs Ministry said on Tuesday.

“During the talks, both leaders reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral cooperation and expressed satisfaction at the excellent relations between Rwanda and India in the overall context of Strategic Partnership,” the ministry said in a statement following delegation-level talks chaired by Modi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame in Kigali on Monday.

According to the statement, Modi highlighted the fact that Rwanda would house the first of the 18 new resident Indian missions to be opened in Africa in 2018 and this underlined the importance attached by India to its relations with Rwanda.    

Stating that India and Rwanda were looking forward to further elevate their ties, Modi, while addressing the media with Kagame following Monday’s talks, said: “This (opening the new mission) will not only facilitate close communication among our governments, it will also help in consular, passport, visa and other facilities.”

Agreements in the area of trade, defence, dairy cooperation, agriculture, culture, leather and allied sectors and two lines of credit worth $200 million for expansion of the special economic zone and irrigation scheme were signed.

“Prime Minister appreciated the effective utilisation of $400 million lines of credit extended to Rwanda in the last few years,” the ministry statement said.

In his address, Modi appreciated the steps for peace that have been adopted in Rwanda following the mass genocide in that country in 1994.

Around 500,000 to one million people were killed in the mass genocide against the Tutsi people by the majority Hutu government of that time. “For us, it is a matter pride that India is a trusted development partner of Rwanda,” Modi said. “We have been helping Rwanda in capacity building, infrastructure development and ICT,” he said.

Modi reached Rwanda on Monday in the first leg of his five-day, three-nation tour of Africa that will also take him to Uganda and South Africa. This was the first ever Prime Ministerial visit from India to Rwanda. This is also Modi’s second visit to mainland Africa after he visited Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya in 2016.