President Paul Kagame has this afternoon received the Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Amor Mottley, who is in Rwanda for a three-day state visit aimed at further strengthening bilateral relations between both countries. Both countries have recently laid out plans to strengthen bilateral cooperation in areas such as trade and investment, sports, tourism, agriculture among others. The two Heads of State will hold a tête-à-tête meeting followed by bilateral talks with members of both delegations, after which they are expected to address members of the press. Prime Minister Mottley will then visit the Kigali Genocide Memorial, where she will lay a wreath in honor of the over one million lives lost during the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi. The memorial is home to at least 250,000 victims of the tragic past. Later in the evening, Kagame will host Prime Minister Mottley and her delegation for a cocktail reception. Prime Minister Mottley’s visit to Rwanda follows Kagame’s visit to Barbados earlier this year which aimed at deepening existing relations between Rwanda and the Caribbean island. On Wednesday, November 9, Rwanda and Barbados signed cooperation agreements in the air services sector as well as in sports. Business delegations from both countries also met to explore investment opportunities. Speaking to The New Times in an exclusive interview, Emery Rubagenga, Honorary consul to Barbados said that the primary focus is to strengthen economic diplomacy between both countries. Rubagenga said that while Barbados was a gateway to the larger Caribbean region, Rwanda, too, is a launch-pad to the rest of the African market. When asked about any specific areas of cooperation, he said that talks had been initiated in various sectors including ICT, financial sectors, vaccine manufacturing capabilities, air travel, sports and tourism among others.
