President Paul Kagame Friday held what he described as a “good conversation” with the European Union (EU) Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jutta Urpilainen. The President announced on his Twitter account that the conversation focused on the broader collaboration between Rwanda and the EU. The two parties particularly discussed cooperation when it comes to fight the new Coronavirus pandemic that has affected all parts of the world. “Had a very productive conversation with EU Commissioner for International Partnerships @JuttaUrpilainen, in the context of the strong collaboration between the EU and Rwanda,” Kagame said in a tweet. Had a very productive conversation with EU Commissioner for International Partnerships @JuttaUrpilainen, in the context of the strong collaboration between the EU and Rwanda. Appreciated the EU’s continuous and needed support in the fight against #COVID19 pandemic, among others. — Paul Kagame (@PaulKagame) May 29, 2020 He added that he “appreciated the EU’s continuous and needed support in the fight against #COVID19 pandemic, among others.” In April, the Delegation of the European Union to Rwanda announced a commitment of Rwf52.8 billion (€52 million) to help the country in mitigating the new coronavirus crisis. The mission said then that it was working on supporting the government of Rwanda to “sustain social protection measures to the most vulnerable groups of the population and those strongest hit by the lockdown.” Rwanda already has a social protection plan that was developed by the Government to support the most vulnerable community members affected by the Coronavirus pandemic. Thank you @PaulKagame for your time and constructive discussion today! Global cooperation is the only way out of this #coronavirus pandemic, #TeamEurope stands by its partners. https://t.co/aRX6OPnBtA — Jutta Urpilainen #UnitedAgainstCoronavirus (@JuttaUrpilainen) May 29, 2020 The commitment from the EU is part of the European Unions Team Europe programme to support partner countries around the world with €20 billion to fight the coronavirus. “Global cooperation is the only way out of this #coronavirus pandemic, #TeamEurope stands by its partners,” Urpilainen said in a tweet, thanking President Kagame for the “constructive discussion.” The EU cooperates in areas of energy and infrastructure, rural development and food security, as well as governance, civil society and human rights, among others.
