KIGALI - The German government has allocated €43m (approx. Rwf 30.2billion), a grant that will mainly be used to develop Rwanda’s energy sector.

The funds will be partly allocated to the implementation of the regional initiative of the Nile Equatorial Lake Countries for the interconnection grid.

This was revealed yesterday during the signing of the MoU at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The MoU was signed between the German Ambassador to Rwanda, Elmar Timpe, and Foreign Affairs Minister Louise Mushikiwabo.

"My government is supporting energy projects in the Great Lakes Region with the objective of fostering development and cooperation between countries,” said the Ambassador.
Mishikiwabo hailed the cooperation between the two countries saying that: "This cooperation is very critical for the development of our nation”.

Germany has a long standing partnership with Rwanda in the sectors of decentralization and local development, and with the agreement signed yesterday, €5m (Rwf3 billion) will be channelled through the Common Development Fund.

Last September, officials from both countries signed an agreement in which Germany announced an increase in commitments for development cooperation to Rwanda by almost 60 percent.

This was after bilateral negotiations that were held at the Foreign Ministry in Kigali. The German delegation then emphasized its willingness to support all necessary reforms in the context of development cooperation.

Germany first made commitments for Rwanda’s general budget support in 2005 and has been supporting Rwanda in implementing the Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy (EDPRS).

The total volume of bilateral technical and financial cooperation since cooperation the 1960s totals to Euros 547.4 million.

Ends