Nasser Bourita (left) with President Kagame at Village Urugwiro
President Paul Kagame had a busy Thursday, receiving high-profile delegates, including one bearing a key message from the King of Morocco.
The Head of State welcomed Nasser Bourita, Morocco’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, who delivered a message from His Majesty King Mohammed VI of Morocco.
Both parties discussed ways to further enhance the fruitful bilateral cooperation across various key sectors.
Rwanda and Morocco have maintained a special relationship and diplomatic cooperation for decades.
King Mohammed VI and President Kagame have paid reciprocal visits to each other and witnessed the signing of bilateral agreements in the economic, political, and social sectors.
In 2016, the Moroccan King visited Rwanda three months after President Kagame had undertaken a two-day state visit to Morocco at the invitation of King Mohammed VI.
During this visit, the King bestowed upon him the Grand Collar of Wissam Al-Mohammadi, Morocco’s highest national Award of Honour.
By 2019, both nations had signed agreements covering trade, environment, mining, geology and hydrocarbons, judicial cooperation, and human capital development, bringing the total number of agreements between the two countries to thirty-six.
In 2020, Rwanda ratified an agreement with the Kingdom of Morocco to enhance judicial cooperation, ensuring that wanted criminals in either state can be arrested, charged, and prosecuted effectively.
President Kagame (middle) with a delegation of Pharco Pharmaceuticals led by Dr. Sherine Abbas Helmy, the CEO
President Kagame also received Dr. Sherine Abbas Helmy, CEO of Pharco Pharmaceuticals, with whom he explored areas of partnership within the healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors.
These discussions followed Rwanda’s Ministry of Health, in partnership with the African Development Fund (ADF), launching a $12 million Regional Pharmaceutical Sector Support Project.
This initiative aims to increase access to pharmaceuticals across the continent.
The project was a result of the first East Africa Pharma and Biotech Conference in 2023, where East African nations convened in Kigali to map out the future of vaccine and pharmaceutical manufacturing in the region.
Rwanda was selected as the central hub for the continent’s first mRNA vaccine plant.
The two-day conference opened Rwanda to new investment opportunities in the pharmaceutical and vaccine manufacturing industry, with plans for local production of pharmaceuticals and vaccines by the end of that year.
