BY MANSUR KAKIMBA

MTN Rwanda issued a Frw20 million cheque to sponsor the 10th Rwanda International 2007 Trader Fair.

The Expo is scheduled to kick-off Thursday next week and will run up to September 03, 2007.

The cheque was received by the Private Sector Federation Psf) Secretary General Emmanuel Hategeka in Kimihurura.

As of Wednesday the telecommunication giant was the leading Platinum category of Expo sponsors.

The theme of the two weeks-long Expo is "Enhancing Trade through Regional Integration”. Among other key sponsors are; Commercial Bank of Rwanda (BCR) and Caisse Sociale du Rwanda (CSR).

These had so far contributed Frw10m, says Ephrem Karangwa, PSF promotions and fairs manager.

He said Banque de Kigali (BK) is also yet to give almost the same amount.

Rwanda’s telecommunication giant is sponsoring the expo for the seventh time and has maintained the same amount of sponsorship as last year. It has also been sponsoring Psf mini expos across Rwanda, predominantly attended by rural folks and entrepreneurs.

Hategeka said, "The theme is quite timely and comes at a crucial moment when Rwanda has fully joined the East African Community, not forgetting the larger Comesa trading bloc that we already embraced seven years ago”.

Adding that: "This is a signal of commitment on the part of the leadership of this nation [Rwanda] to eliminate any trade barriers by opening up doors to foreign trade, a phenomenon that has become a global trend”.

Ends