Prime Minister Bernard Makuza last evening returned from N’djamena, Chad, where he represented President Paul Kagame at the swearing-in ceremony of Chadian President, Idriss Deby.

In an interview with The New Times, the Premier said that the ceremony was colourful, and well-attended by dignitaries from various countries.

After the swearing in, Makuza said, the Chadian Head of State talked about the renaissance of his country as well as plans for his new term in office.

"He plans to uplift education and also empower the youth and women,” the Prime Minister explained.

He pointed out that Rwanda and Chad enjoy warm relations signalled by the attendance by Deby during President Kagame’s inauguration ceremony in September last year.

Deby was declared winner of the presidential elections held last April with an 88.66 percent margin.

He was a member of the panel of the five heads of state of the African Union (AU) in charge of finding a peaceful solution to the post-election crisis in Ivory Coast.

A semi-desert country, Chad has vast gold and uranium deposits and stands to benefit from its recently-acquired status as an oil-exporting state.

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