Twelve new envoys presented their credentials to President Kagame, marking the beginning of their diplomatic engagement with Rwanda. The countries with envoys with residence in Rwanda include Germany, the Kingdom of Netherlands, Qatar and Zimbabwe. Additional countries presenting their credentials yesterday were Ireland, Hungary, Malaysia, Philippines, South Sudan, Spain, Botswana and Serbia with residence in the East African region. Speaking to media after handing in their credentials, the envoys committed to work to improve the relations between the countries they represent and Rwanda, with specific emphasis on boosting trade and investment. “We have been partners with Rwanda over the past 25 years. We have seen our relations develop from the very start from 1994 and 95 where our engagements were mostly humanitarian assistance,” said Matthijs Clemens Wolters, the new Dutch envoy. The new envoys share a light moment after their meeting with President Kagame at Village Urugwiro yesterday. Photo: Village Urugwiro. He added: “Now since Rwanda is progressing so much, we are moving to another phase where economic development and business opportunities are our mutual goal and that is what I will be personally committed to over the next four years.” “We are shifting from aid to trade and we will be investing our time in convincing Netherlands investors to come to Rwanda,” he added. Thomas Kurz, the new German envoy said his country is also looksling to invest more in Rwanda, Ambassador Charity Manyeruke of Zimbabwe highlighted specific sectors of engagement: “We have very excellent relations with Rwanda and now we are hoping to deepen especially our economic relations and in sectors including agriculture, education, mining, ICT, politics and governance,” she said. The appointment of the Qatari ambassador Abdulla Mohd Al- Sayed comes a few months following the three day state visit of Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar. The visit which took place in April ended with the signing of four bilateral agreements in the areas of culture, sports, cooperation in the field of tourism and business events. Duku Michael, the ambassador of South Sudan to Rwanda with residence in Kampala said his country will work together with Rwanda towards the integration of East Africa. He also expressed the need for both countries to learn from each other, and invited Rwandan investors to invest in his country. Francisca Pedrós Carretero the Spanish ambassador to Rwanda with residence in Tanzania said she had a frank conversation with President Kagame about working to improve the relations of both countries bilaterally and in multilateral forums. Dragan Zupanjevac the Serbian envoy to Rwanda with residence in Nairobi expressed the willingness for both countries to cooperate in business and the political sector. editor@newtimesrwanda.com
