URUGWIRO VILLAGE - President Paul Kagame yesterday received the visiting delegation from the Rhineland- Palatinate, one of the states forming Germany, currently in the country on a cooperation strengthening programme.

The 21-man delegation which is in the country for a five-day visit, is led by the Internal Affairs and Sports Minister of the Rhineland- Palatinate, Karl Peter Bruch.

Speaking to the press shortly after the talks, Bruch said that the talks with the President centred on the various projects the Rhineland-Palatinate is supporting in Rwanda.
"We also talked about future shaping of partnership activities. We agreed on how to take it further. Meeting the President was quite an experience and we are particularly confident that things are well underway,” Bruch said.

Bruch who was accompanied by Members of Parliament from the Province and the European Union, said that Rwanda and the German province have agreed to strengthen the already existing cooperation in the area of education, economic development, vocational training, job creation and many other areas.

Bruch also spoke out strongly against the United Nations Human Rights Mapping Report on DRC which accuses Rwandan forces of committing atrocities in the DRC, saying that the report lacks a basis.

"To us, this report lacks foundation and is not convincing when it comes to the points in which it criticises Rwanda.

To us, Rwanda is a country and we know it has a high degree of constitutionality of legal safety,” he said
"Security for its citizens, proper education system, and therefore, we believe that Rwanda is in no position of needing to justify itself and can expect what is going to happen next with a certain degree of calm,” Bruch said.

Since their arrival, the delegation has met and held various discussions with the ministers of Local Government, Education, Foreign Affairs as well as Kigali City leadership.

According to the Minister of Local Government, James Musoni, from their visits to several parts of the country, the delegation appreciated the government’s efforts in promoting the socio-economic welfare of its people, infrastructure development, promoting investment, among others.

"They visited a number of projects, particularly those that they support in the education sector, skills development, and they also promised the President that they will continue to support Rwanda to deal with negative forces and they will do all it takes to promote the true image of Rwanda,” Musoni said.

Musoni said that the Rhineland Palatinate continues to support capacity development at district levels and community to community programmes and that there is a joint commission that takes place every four years where the two parties review areas of focus.

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