Prime Minister Édouard Ngirente said that though Covid-19 has undoubtedly severely disrupted the global economy, the pandemic revealed huge untapped opportunities in Rwanda.
The Premier was speaking at the first-ever Concordia Africa Summit on Tuesday, November 17.
Rwanda had been chosen as the host-country of the summit, but the event ended up being held virtually in prevention of Covid-19 spread.
The two-day event that ended on Tuesday brought together delegates from around the world to discuss several issues facing the continent in a bid to find solutions.
In his remarks, Ngirente noted that Covid-19 revealed dormant opportunities in Rwanda's manufacturing sector.
He said: "With the pandemic, most national borders have been closed and critical global supply chains disrupted. However, this presented an unseen opportunity for Rwanda.
"We realized that many of the imported products such as Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), could actually be made in Rwanda. This was done by repurposing existing manufacturing facilities towards Covid-related products.”
The Premier added that the country was able to produce different types of masks, face-shields as well as hand sanitizers, which he said paved the way to develop targeted strategic interventions.
"These have been key in producing quality Made in Rwanda products for both the domestic and export markets. This will no doubt lay the foundations for a stronger and more resilient development model,” he stressed.
A month after Rwanda confirmed its first Covid-19 case, some domestic companies were authorized to turn their facilities into production of personal protective equipment as there was a shortage of PPEs globally.
Pillars of recovery agenda
According to Ngirente, there is confidence that the economy of Rwanda and of other countries will bounce back, and to do so, the recovery agenda has to be built around three key pillars: resilience, partnerships and innovation.
Concerning partnership, in the fight against Covid-19, he said, Rwanda has greatly benefitted from strong global partnerships such as from multilateral organisations and different friends of Rwanda.
Ngirente also said that through these partnerships, much needed resources were provided to fight the pandemic, support the private sector and fund much needed growth to lift the country out of the economic recession.
"Building strong institutions, maintaining strong partnerships between Government and the Private Sector, as well as continuously enhancing the business environment, will remain a key priority for the Government,” he noted, adding that: "This will be done as we focus on attracting private investment to drive growth and economic resilience.”