Rwanda Senate Secretary-General (left)and Hudson Wang, Economic and Commercial Counselor at the Chinese embassy in Rwanda
Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference Committee (CPPCC), an advisory committee for the government, legislatures, and judicial organs in China have donated a total of 22,400 disposable face masks to their Rwandan counterparts in a bid to prevent the spread of new coronavirus.
The donated face masks were handed over on Thursday, July 23, 2020 in Kigali.
“Coronavirus continues to affect the globe and Rwanda in particular, so the face masks are important to us. The masks have been donated by our friends in China, they are many and will serve the local legislators,” Sosthene Cyitatire, Rwandan Senate Secretary-General said.
“The masks will be used for over three months, this is a long period and we are so thankful for the donation. They will be used by the senators, members of parliaments lower chamber, and other staff at the parliament.”
The donation of face masks comes after CPPCC members visited Rwandan legislators in April 2019. The four-day visit aimed at enhancing relations between the two countries.
Since March 14, 2020, when the Rwandan government reported the first case of new coronavirus several donations have been handed over to the Rwanda government from the Chinese government, individuals, and companies to help in treatment and prevention.
Other Covid-19 medical and prevention equipment were donated by star group company and Jack Ma, a Chinese billionaire.
“The donation is a demonstration of closer cooperation between the two parliaments. It is also a demonstration of China’s support for Rwanda to fight against the fight of COVID-19. Last year CPPCC visited Rwanda and they were warmly received and granted an audience by President Paul Kagame,” Hudson Wang, Economic and Commercial Counselor at the Chinese embassy in Rwanda said.
“There are a lot of similarities between China and Rwanda in fighting COVI-19. During the very unprecedented challenge of health and safety of the whole society, both governments were decisive in the fight against the virus, in this aspect Rwanda and China have done an excellent job.” Wang said.
In Rwanda, the number of COVID-19 confirmed cases has reached 1,689 and the active cases are 817. The number of recoveries is still slightly higher with 867 recoveries as of Wednesday 22, 2020.
China and Rwanda have good relations not only at the parliamentary level, but also in other spheres of governance including infrastructure development, diplomacy, defence, and peacekeeping activities, among others.
