Previous Articles

German-Rwandan Economic Exchange to Be Reinforced by a U.S. Grant of $84 Million

The final phase of negotiations between the countries has reached a decisive point

August 29th, 2016
Marta Chadalska, News from Berlin
20160829_Economic-Exchange.jpg

Information concerning the process of establishing the conditions of the agreement has been released, following a closed-door meeting between the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning, Amb. Claver Gatete, and the visiting German minister for economic cooperation and development, Dr Gerd Müller.

According to Müller, private investments should be supported if we are to build upon these initial foundations. Currently 25 German firms work in Rwanda and one of the main aims of the grant is to encourage more German entrepreneurs to invest in the country. "We intend to negotiate a commitment of $84 million in 2017. This will be our support for the next few years to come for very specific projects. I believe that we can multiply the impact many more times if we support the proposal put forward by Minister Gatete to support private investment like attracting German companies to invest in Rwanda," said Mueller during a news conference in Kigali.

Müller also acknowledged the efforts of Rwandan government and commitment of citizens to rebuild the damaged economy following a period of conflict. He declared that Germany would support any attempt by Rwanda to further develop the country. "We will continue to support the work of the government with focus on decentralisation and in vocational education and training areas," he said. Germany has been supporting Rwanda for a number of years, especially in the Technology and Education sectors. One third of the $84 million grant will go towards supporting Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET).

This donation is not the first instance in which Germany has provided support to Rwanda. In May 2015 the Rwandan government received a grant of $17 million (circa Rwf13 billion) to develop the "Hydropower Station Ruzizi III" project. Funds have also been invested in new training equipment and renovating or extending existing facilities at technical schools. The total cost of the project is estimated at around $650 million. Germany is currently the only partner country supporting the project.

References:

News from Berlin