President Paul Kagame on Sunday, January 30, hosted Patrick Pouyanné, the Chairman and CEO of Total Energies who was in Rwanda for a one day visit. TotalEnergies is active in over 130 countries worldwide and describes itself as being involved in energy that is more affordable, cleaner, more reliable and accessible to as many people as possible. The firm is currently reinventing and diversifying their energy offering to promote renewable and decarbonized energies, as well as sparing, well-considered use of fossil energies. Following their meeting, the two leaders witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Rwanda Development Board and TotalEnergies to develop collaboration in various sectors. Kagame thanked Pouyanné for his visit and the strong partnership established through the MoU. Pouyanné also met with members of the Rwandan business community at a business forum in Kigali aimed at exploring areas of collaboration between the firm and Rwandan companies. Speaking at the forum, he noted the firm’s commitment to fast tracking the implementation of the various areas of collaboration discussed including in the energy sector and education among others. He told members of the Rwandan private sector that TotalEnergies is involved in many different projects beyond oil and gas in various countries on the continent. “We want to give you an opportunity to deploy your talents and businesses not only in Rwanda but beyond your borders,” he said. Clare Akamanzi, the Chief Executive of Rwanda Development Board noted that potential opportunities for collaboration include; renewable energy, energy distribution and storage, carbon credits, conservation and biodiversity, as well as education programs for energy transition. Speaking on behalf of Rwanda’s business community, Robert Bafakulera, Chairman of the Private Sector Federation expressed readiness by the business community to tap into opportunities presented by TotalEnergies.
