Rwanda and the European Union have committed to further strengthen their cooperation in sectors like education, agriculture and energy, officials have said.
Belén Calvo Uyarra, EU's ambassador to Rwanda, paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Edouard Ngirente on Tuesday, December 13, after which she pledged deeper cooperation in key sectors.
Claudine Uwase, the Minister of State in charge of Planning at the Ministry of Finance, told journalists that Prime Minister Ngirente's discussion with Uyarra focused on cooperation in agriculture, education and energy.
"Currently, we are working on a programme with the EU, which focuses especially on climate-resilient agriculture," Uwase said.
"It has been noted that we need more investments in agriculture to be able to reach the targeted production. In the energy sector, our cooperation is focused on clean cooking, especially in schools, where we need to use sustainable energy sources instead of firewood. We are also looking for ways to increase our power generation."
In education, Uwase said, Rwanda and the EU are working together to develop TVET education in order to provide skills needed in different sectors.
Uyarra, who started her job in September, replacing Nicola Bellomo, said she would continue to deepen the existing relations between EU and Rwanda.
"The European Union is working with Rwanda at multilateral level on the continent, but also bilaterally. We are engaging in education, agriculture and the green area. We are also working together in the health sector as well as in economic and political governance," Uyarra said.
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She added that the EU would continue to support Rwanda's development agenda, through different sectors. Recently, the EU Council approved €20 million in assistance to Rwanda's troop deployment to Mozambique.
"We are partners of choice and we work closely at multilateral level addressing global challenges with climate change and security matters," she said.
"Our commitment is to continue deepening our cooperation in education, a key sector in the country, in agriculture and health sectors. We are very keen on supporting the country in its agenda to become a middle-income economy."
Uwase said next year the Rwandan government and the EU will review their relations in order to identify areas that need more attention, going forward.
Rwanda and the EU have partnered in the manufacturing of therapeutics including vaccines needed on the African continent.
