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| Rwandan President Paul Kagame (R) meets with China’s Vice Minister of Commerce Gao Hucheng in Kigali, capital of Rwanda, Aug. 18, 2011 (Xinhua/Yuan Liang) |
KIGALI, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) — During a visit by Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce Gao Hucheng, Rwandan officials on Thursday urged local companies to use the leverage of its government’s strong political relationship with China to develop new business and investment opportunities.
Hailed nowadays as a top investment opportunity in the East African region, Rwanda is in a strong position to attract business investors from China with the aim to promote trade exchanges between the two sides, which would total 7.6 million U. S. dollars over five years until Aug. 31, 2016, according to Rwandan Foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo.
The Rwandan official believes that there is currently huge potential for furthering mutually beneficial trade exchange and increasing investment channels between China and the Central African nation.
“The increasingly growing trade and economic relations between China and Rwanda remains a key objective since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 1976,” Mushikiwabo told reporters in Kigali.
Furthermore, officials in Kigali have announced their intention to enact visa exemption deals while securing free trade agreements as a way to encourage the expansion of Chinese investments in many other sectors of the national economy, such as health and tourism.
New Century Development, a Chinese investment company, has already acquired the land in the Rwandan Capital Kigali City to construct a five-star hotel, a commercial building and a conference hall worthy 70 millions dollars, according to the Chinese Embassy in Kigali.
Within the new business cooperation between China and Rwanda, the framework agreement on health will cover the construction of a new ultra-modern clinic to be built by Chinese engineers in Masaka, a suburb of Kigali, Rwandan Health Minister Agnes Binagwaho said.
Cooperation between the two countries has so far been limited to the infrastructure and education sectors.
In education, some young Rwandans have long benefited from grants to pursue their academic programs in Chinese universities, according to the government in Kigali.
Speaking in the same vein, Gao said his country wants to provide a forum where business leaders from both parties can meet and interact so as to increase trade and investment between the two economies.
Rwandan President Paul Kagame has made several visits to China since 2007, with an aim to encourage Chinese companies to come and assess business opportunities in the Central African nation.
The visiting Chinese official also signed business agreements for the funding of six investment projects in the Central African nation.
On several occasions, President Kagame urged his countrymates, especially the business community, to take advantage of China’s investment climate and strike investment ties that would be mutually beneficial.
The visit by the senior Chinese government official is aimed at reinforcing cooperation and commercial exchanges between the two countries, according to the government press release issued in Kigali.
