Rwanda and Turkey on Thursday, January 23 signed four cooperation agreements as part of the efforts to elevate their bilateral relations. The signing ceremony was presided over by President Paul Kagame and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara. ALSO READ: Kagame, First Lady in Türkiye for official visit The agreements include a Memorandum of Understanding between the Secretariat of Defense Industries of the Presidency of Türkeye, and Rwanda’s Ministry of Defence as well as a Memorandum of Understanding between the Rwanda Broadcasting Agency (RBA) and Turkish Radio and Television Corporation to enhance cooperation in radio and television. Also signed in Ankara is a cooperation agreement on civil aircraft accidents and serious incident investigations as well as a Memorandum of Understanding on media and communications. ALSO READ: Kagame, Türkiye'sErdoğan hold talks in Ankara The signing of the agreements was preceded by a one-on-one meeting of the Presidents. President Kagame said that agreements reflect a shared vision for deeper cooperation, adding that Rwanda is open to collaborating with more Turkish companies. Kagame acknowledged Turkey’s investment and support to Rwanda in infrastructure development, citing the recent renovation of Amahoro Stadium. Rwanda remains open to welcoming even more Turkish companies, there is certainly a lot we can do together and learn from one another,” Kagame said. The Turkish leader said the visit by his Rwandan counter was an important achievement in the two countries' relations. “We see today’s visit as a new milestone in terms of deepening our cooperation, said Erdogan. With its political stability, domestic peace, and economic development model, Rwanda is an exemplary African country. Without doubt, my treasured friend Kagame’s visionary leadership plays an important role in this success.” He noted that with the opening of the two countries’ embassies in 2013 and 2014, “[Türkiye's] relations with Rwanda gained significant momentum.” “Indeed, we are speaking of a friendly country where our countries’ current investments total nearly 500 million dollars while our trade volume stood at one million dollars in the early 2000s.” The two leaders also discussed the steps needed to strengthen bilateral cooperation in trade, investments, energy, education, culture, defense industry, as well as research and development sectors.
