Indian PM in Rwanda: Diplomatic niceties, eight MoUs and a $200 mn line of credit

A young girl in white dress presents the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, with a bouquet of flowers as a gesture of welcome; the Rwandan President, Paul Kagame, greets the Indian premier with a hug.

Amidst the diplomatic niceties, warmth and grace, smiles, handshakes and even a ‘namaste’ (a respectful greeting) are exchanged. The guest dignitary is accorded a red carpet reception by the host Government of Rwanda. A bevy of vehicles then escort the Indian Prime Minister from the Kigali International Airport for writing a new chapter in the book of India and East Africa ties.

After holding talks with President Kagame, the Indian Prime Minister announced that India will soon open its mission in Rwanda and also extended $200 million lines of credit to Rwanda.

 

Full text of Indian Prime Minister’s speech during his visit to Rwanda:

“Your Excellency President

Paul Kagame

Distinguished delegates,

Members of the Media,

This is the first time when a Prime Minister of India has come to Rwanda. And my good fortune is that I got this privilege on the invitation of my friend President Kagame.

I express my heartfelt thanks to President’s friendly words, and warm welcome and respect for me and my delegation. The President himself came to welcome me. His special gesture is the honour of the whole of India. The peace process adopted by Rwanda after the 1994 Genocide, is truly commendable and unique in its true sense. It is President Kagame’s efficient leadership and effective and competent rule that Rwanda is making economic progress at a rapid pace.

The relationship between India and Rwanda has come to the test of time. It is a matter of pride for us that India has been your trusted partner in Rwanda’s economic and national development. Our contribution will continue in Rwanda’s development journey. We have been collaborating in areas of training, technology, infrastructure development and project assistance. In areas such as finance, management, rural development and ICT we provide training in Rwanda’s leading institutes.

We would like to further increase this contribution in capacity building. We have signed a deal on the lines of credit and training of two hundred million dollars. We have also discussed various areas of cooperation between the two countries, including new areas such as leather and dairy research. In this context, I am very excited about the visit to Ravveru Model village along with the President. India itself is an agricultural country, and most of our population lives in villages.

And therefore, I want to improve the lives of Rwanda and benefit from the initiatives of the President. We have proposed many such areas, which can strengthen the broad developmental partnership, including the Manufacturing Sector, Hospitality and Tourism. We want to strengthen our business and investment relations. And so, President Kagame and I will meet with the major business leaders of both countries and will consider their suggestions.

Friends,

I am happy to inform you that we will soon open High Commission in Rwanda. This will only facilitate close communication between our governments, as well as consular, passport and visa and other facilities. We look forward to taking the relationship between the two countries to a more high level in the coming time.

I once again give my heartfelt gratitude to the President and to the people of Rwanda.”

List of MoUs/Documents signed between India and Rwanda during visit of Indian Prime Minister to Rwanda

No.	AREA	AGREEMENT/MOU	AREAS OF COOPERATION	SIGNATORY FROM INDIA	SIGNATORY FROM RWANDA
1.	Agriculture Signed on 31.5.2007	Amendment on the MoU on Cooperation in the field of Agriculture and Animal Resources	Cooperation in agriculture and livestock with strong emphasis on research, technological development, capacity building and human resource development as well as investment mobilization.	Mr.T.S. Tirumurti , Secretary (Economic Relations), Ministry of External Affairs	Hon. Geraldine Mukeshimana, Minister for Agriculture and Animal Resources
2.	Defence	Agreement on Cooperation Defence on Capacity Building, Defence, Industry, Science and Technology.	Capacity Building, Defence, Industry, Science and Technology.	Mr.T.S. Tirumurti , Secretary (Economic Relations), Ministry of External Affairs	Hon. James KABAREBE, Minister of Defence
3.	Culture First signed in 1975	MoU on Cultural Exchange Program for the year 2018-22	Music and Dance, Theatre, Exhibitions, Seminars and Conference, Archeology, Archives, Library, Museums, Literature, Research and Documentation etc	Mr.T.S. Tirumurti , Secretary (Economic Relations), Ministry of External Affairs	Hon. Uwacu Julienne, Minister of Sports and Culture
4.	Dairy Cooperation	MoU on Agricultural Research and Education between RAB and ICAR	Training and Research in Dairy, Processing of Dairy Products, Quality and Safety of Mil, Biotechnological Intervention in Livestock	Mr.T.S. Tirumurti , Secretary (Economic Relations), Ministry of External Affairs	Mr. Patrick KARANGWA, PhD. Director General
5.	Leather and Allied Sectors	MoU on Collaboration in the Areas of Leather and Allied Sectors between NIRDA and CSIR-CLRI		Dr. B. Chandrasekaran, Director , CSIR- CLRI	Ms. Kampeta Sayinzoga Director General, NIRDA
6.	LOC Agreements	LOC Agreement for US $ 100 million for development of Industrial Parks and expansion of Kigali Special Economic Zones		Nadeem Panjetan, Chief General Manager,EXIM Bank	Hon. Dr. Uzziel NDAGIJIMANA Minister of Finance and Economic Planning
7.	LOC Agreemnts	LOC Agreement for US $ 100 million for Agriculture irrigation scheme in Rwanda		Nadeem Panjetan, Chief General Manager,EXIM Bank	Hon. Dr. Uzziel NDAGIJIMANA Minister of Finance and Economic Planning
8.	Trade	Trade Cooperation Framework	Facilitate, diversify and promote trade and economic cooperation between the two countries.	Mr.T.S. Tirumurti , Secretary (Economic Relations), Ministry of External Affairs	Hon. Vincent MUNYESHYAKA Minister of Trade and Industry