Minister Çavuşoğlu and Dr. Vincent Biruta exchange files after signing cooperation agreements between Rwanda and Türkiye. Photos/Moses Niyonzima.
Rwanda and Türkiye have agreed to strengthen bilateral ties further, focusing on key areas of interest, including trade, investment, education and defense, among others, following the visit of the Turkish Foreign Affairs Minister, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, who arrived in Rwanda on Thursday.
Çavuşoğlu, who is on an African tour covering different countries, including Rwanda, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Gabon and Sao Tome and Principe, visited the Kigali Genocide Memorial before holding talks with his Rwanda counterpart, Dr. Vincent Biruta and signed several cooperation agreements aimed at consolidating bilateral ties between the two countries.
His two-day working visit follows that of Minister Biruta to Ankara in September 2021, during which Rwanda and Türkiye signed cooperation agreements in the areas of sports, education, industry and protocol, to give a new boost to the existing relations between the two countries.
“This is the second official visit to Rwanda of Minister Çavuşoğlu, which demonstrates the willingness of our two countries to further enhance bilateral and multilateral engagements,”
The two Ministers pen agreements.
“Our delegations have just concluded reproductive talks. We commended the existing relations and reviewed the progress made in various sectors of our cooperation,”
Dr. Biruta said that until this morning, Rwanda and Türkiye had signed 21 agreements and MoUs in different sectors, including trade investment, security and defence, education, visa exemption, culture and diplomacy, among others,” he added.
He pointed out that Minister Çavuşoğlu visit to Rwanda is a strong signal to further strengthen the existing bilateral relations and also offered an opportunity to discuss new areas of cooperation for the benefit of citizens of both countries.
“Our delegations have just concluded reproductive talks. We commended the existing relations and reviewed the progress made in various sectors of our cooperation,”
Dr. Biruta said that until this morning, Rwanda and Türkiye had signed 21 agreements and MoUs in different sectors, including trade investment, security and defence, education, visa exemption, culture and diplomacy, among others,” he added.
Three new agreements have been signed in General Cooperation, Culture, as well as Science, Technology and Innovation.
In education, Dr. Biruta commended the support provided by the Government of Türkiye, where out of 240 Rwandan students studying in Tur, 81 of them are studying on scholarships offered by the country.
Dr. Biruta pointed out that Türkiye is a strong economic partner to Rwanda, noting that Rwanda appreciates the level of investment by Türkiye that has increased over the years, where the main sectors being invested in are manufacturing, real estate, hospitality and construction, among others.
The two officials addressed members of the press.
“We proposed that more be done between our respective business communities and agreed to keep finding win-win partnerships for the continuous development of our nations,” he said.
On his part, Minister Çavuşoğlu said that every time he comes to Rwanda, he is impressed by country’s rapid development and following his visit to the Kigali Genocide Memorial, he reiterated Türkiye solidarity with Rwanda in the fight against genocide.
“Before the meeting, I visited the Kigali Genocide Memorial. Let me repeat our solidarity with the Government and the people of Rwanda on the Genocide against the Tutsi,”
“Today we discussed many issues on our bilateral relations engagements in the economy, investment, energy, defence, culture and education. With the general cooperation we’ve just signed, we will form a joint permanent commission,”
Çavuşoğlu said that the JPC will be another mechanism where the two countries can assess all aspects of engagement and also at the same time activate the political consultation mechanism that Rwanda and Türkiye established in 2013.
While in Rwanda, He also met with other senior government officials and visited the Amahoro National Stadium which is being renovated by a Turkish firm. Later in the day, he was expected to pay a courtesy call on President Paul Kagame at Urugwiro Village.
Rwanda and Türkiye have enjoyed diplomatic relations since 1980 and opened diplomatic missions in Ankara and Kigall in 2013 and 2014, respectively.
