A ten-man German delegation led by the Mayor of Mainz City Jens Beutel is in the country on a one-week visit aimed at strengthening relations with Kigali City Council (KCC).Mainz city is one of the cities that constitute Germany’s Federal State of Rhineland Palatinate.“We have had a strong relationship with Mainz over time and this has seen the construction of one million euro solar system in our country. Their visit is going to strengthen these ties” Kigali City Vice Mayor Jeanne d’Arc Gakuba told the press shortly after welcoming the German delegation at Kigali International airport on Saturday.Launched a few months ago, Africa’s biggest solar energy plant installed at Jali hill in Gasabo District, Kigali was funded by the German city through a company called Stadtwerke Mainz, and the Rhineland Palatinate citizens. Gakuba said the delegation will later this week hold talks and sign a Memorandum of Understanding with KCC geared towards cementing ties between the two cities. Flanked by his wife Gudrun Beutel, Beutel said that his city’s relationship with KCC is based on the reception and love for development that was exhibited by the people of Rwanda. In June KCC marked 25 years of cooperation with Rhineland Palatinate. The ties stem from an official Exchange of Letters in June 1982 between then state’s Minister-President Dr Bernhard Vogel and former Rwandan foreign minister François Ngarukiyintwali.There are now 52 municipalities and districts in Rhineland-Palatinate which have partnerships with various Rwandan municipalities, and contacts exist between some 250 schools in Rwanda and the German Federal state.Kigali City is also currently involved in activities to mark the city’s 100th anniversary with celebrations expected to come to climax in October.Ends
