Rwanda, Belgium Sign - 38 Million Co-Operation Agreement Pact

The New Times
23 January 2009
By James Karuhanga

The Belgian government is set to release EUR 38.12 million (about RWF 30,000, 000, 000) to Rwanda, as part of the two countries' development cooperation frame-work, it was revealed yesterday.

Foreign Affairs minister Rosemary Museminali and Belgian Chargé d'Affaires, Theofiel Baert, signed five new cooperation agreements at the ministry's premises.

"These are funds that had been earmarked but the action that we have just done today of signing for the funds helps get the money into the projects so that they can start being operational," Museminali told reporters shortly after putting pen to paper.

"And we believe that this is all going to feed into our programme of development," she said, stressing how crucial the Belgian support was, as well as expressing government's appreciation for it.

A subsequent press release indicates that this "project fund" money will go into five specific areas, including; animal husbandry, infrastructure development and an institutional support programme for the implementation of a strategic sanitary development plan for Kigali city. It will also assist in accessing safe drinking water in Nyaruguru, Huye and Gisagara districts of southern province.

In addition to these other projects, some Euro 4m will be set aside to support socio-economic and cultural development of the Northern Province with the view of consolidating its social fabric and the reconciliation process.