Kigali, 9 January 2015
President Kagame today received the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Professor Akihiko Tanaka who is on a tour of the country to visit projects undertaken by the agency.
After the meeting with President Kagame, Professor Akihiko Tanaka said:
“I was very delighted to have discussions with the President and to know that his vision is very much compatible with JICA’s vision for Rwanda and the region. Both of us are happy about the fruits of our cooperation and partnership, for instance the Rusumo international bridge who inauguration I will attend tomorrow. The President talked about developmental prospects and regional connectivity and enhancement of regional integration which is within JICA’s scope of partnership interest. JICA is conducting development assistance, but the President also emphasized the importance of private sector engagement and I promised that among other partnership activities, JICA would encourage Japan’s businesses to come and invest in Rwanda.”
The Ambassador of Rwanda to Japan, Dr. Charles Muligande said:
“During the discussions, the President and the head of JICA took stock of the achievements registered by JICA’s presence in the country, notably, the Rusumo Bridge, the Tumba School of Technology, among other significant projects transforming lives of Rwandans. The President also highlighted other projects in the region like the proposed railway line and the linking of electricity grids that are aimed at boosting regional development which he said JICA could also focus on.”
Rwanda and Japan hold an Annual Policy Dialogue (APD) through which priority areas for the bilateral cooperation are agreed upon. The last APD was held in Kigali, on November 4, 2014. Currently Japan supports Rwanda in three main sectors, namely; Human Resource Development, improvement of Economic Infrastructure and Rural Development.