Rwanda and the European Union (EU) are in the final stages of discussions on priority cooperation areas for the next six years till 2027. In a meeting between Minister of Finance and Economic Planning Uzziel Ndagijimana and EU Ambassador Nicola Bellomo, it emerged that the priority areas include education, skills and jobs for the youth; a green deal for inclusive development as well as political and economic governance. Private sector development will also be included among the areas of cooperation. The EU budget support consists of direct grants to the national budget to support the policies and actions in the identified sectors. The grant amounts are linked to the sector performance and to indicators successfully achieved. The new EU-Rwanda cooperation strategy is expected to be finalised with further details in the coming weeks and start implementation early next year. Ndagijimana, said that the cooperation over the years had led to progress in aspects such as infrastructure, energy and transport, and agriculture. “We look forward to discussing and engaging the EU on future priority areas of cooperation that would ultimately contribute towards the realization of the National Strategy for transformation as well as vision 2050,” he said. The meeting was preceded by disbursement of Rwf42.5 billion by the EU at the end of June which marks the completion of the two largest operations under the EU-Rwanda cooperation strategy for the period 2014-2020. The funds were earmarked for the agriculture sector and response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Over the last six years, the EU has doled out Euro 350 million to Rwanda to support agriculture and energy as well as the efforts to alleviate the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic. Bellomo said that the EU budget support to Rwanda had been well utilised as it has increased access to electricity where progress has moved from 28 per cent in 2015 to more than 60 per cent today.
