Speech by Olivier Nduhungirehe, Rwandan Minister of State, EAC Affairs at Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit
Honorable Sushma Swaraj- Minister of External Affairs, Government of India
Honorable Vijay Rupani- Chief Minister of Gujarat
Honorable Ministers from African Countries here present,
Members of the Business Community from Africa and India,
Distinguished Ladies & Gentlemen
On behalf of His Excellency Paul Kagame, President of the Republic of Rwanda and Chair of the African Union; and on my own behalf, I am honored and pleased to participate in the 9th Vibrant Gujarat Summit, particularly this year with the introduction of the Africa Day, testimony to India’s growing partnership with the African continent.
As we are all aware, historical socio-economic ties between India and Africa span several decades and covers a wide range of sectors, such as energy, trade & investments in healthcare, education, innovation and agriculture to name but a few. India is not a new player in Africa, but it is playing an increasingly more active and substantive role. India has indeed become the 5th largest investor in Africa and a major trading partner.
These investments represent a powerful tool for development, growth and impact. And the current momentum in Africa’s regional integration undoubtedly expands the benefits and synergies of what we can accomplish together.
The African Continental Free Trade Area signed earlier last year and expected to come into effect this year, presents a single continental market of 1.3 Billion growing to 2.5 billion people by 2050.
Africa’s integration is not only about market access but also free movement of people supported by protocols such as the Single African Air Transport Market [P1] -signed by 26 countries as of mid-2018 to boost connectivity among African States. Africans have great hope that 2019 will mark a new era in the shaping of our economic fortunes.
The 10 billion $ worth of concessional loans committed by India to our continent during the 3rd India – Africa Forum Summit in New Delhi in October 2015, demonstrate an interest and engagement from the Government of India that can be the foundation of increased bilateral trade and market access, building on existing mechanisms such as India’s Duty Free Tariff Preference Scheme for Least Developed Countries, which many of our countries can leverage.
With this perspective in mind, this global Summit offers a powerful platform for both parties to discuss mutually beneficial partnerships, once initiatives like the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) are operational.
Distinguished Ladies and gentlemen,
Rwanda values the strong strategic partnership with India, which has served as a foundation for number of bilateral cooperation programs and projects.
Our bilateral relations have been further cemented through exchange of High level visits. At the leadership level, H.E. The President of Rwanda has already visited India five times. Most recently, he participated in the 8th Vibrant Gujarat Summit and the International Solar Alliance Summit in March 2018, an initiative championed by the Indian Government to massively deploy solar energy, including in Rwanda.
Furthermore, the visit by Rt. Hon. Narendra Modi in July 2018 as the first Indian Premier to ever visit our country, remains memorable and holds a special place in the minds of the Rwandan people. As a result of this visit six MOUs and two lines of credit were signed.
Rwandans still keep strong memories of a particular gift from Prime Minister Modi.
The Premier donated to the local inhabitants of Rweru Village, 200 cows as a contribution to the ‘Girinka’ program – loosely translated in English as ‘own a cow’.
It is a social protection scheme, where the poorest families are gifted dairy cows by the government, and the first female calf born to the cow is gifted to a neighbor to promote not only economic solidarity, but also brotherhood and consideration. The value of such a gift from a culture where cows have a special significance – can only take its whole meaning in another culture – that holds cows in the same high regard.
Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,
In addition to the good bilateral relations, trade and investments between India and Rwanda have experienced positive growth trajectory with more than 600 million USD worth of investments and 142 companies registered to say the least.
Major investments from India to Rwanda are in the manufacturing sector which attracted the highest amount of investment with $ 203 Million registered in the last decade; followed by Information and communication sector with $128 Million.
Rwanda continues to improve its Doing Business Environment testimony of which is its strongest performance in 2019 ranking 29th globally in ease of doing business. Important to note:
- Rwanda was the only Low income economy in the global Top 30 in the ease of doing business.
Rwanda was among the top 10 global reformers in the 2019 edition of the World Bank Doing Business report and is the 2nd easiest place to do business in Africa.
In a bid to attract more investments from India, our major focus is in the following areas:
i)Manufacturing: In order to boost local production and consumption of locally made products, we welcome Indian investors/manufacturers to establish their business operations in the areas of construction materials, light manufacturing notably textiles & garments, electronics, packaging materials.
ii) Agriculture also drives an important part of Indian investment in Africa. Nearly 80 Indian companies have invested about US$2.5 billion in Africa’s agricultural sector and therefore we wish to attract valuable investments mainly focusing on agro-processing, horticulture, edible oil and irrigation.
iii) Tourism is one of the fastest and growing sectors attracting a significant number of tourists from India with majority coming to Rwanda purposely for leisure tourism. Rwanda is home to a range of tourist attractions notably the famous mountain Gorillas as well as the big five. This sets an opportunity to set up high end accommodation facilities for tourists.
iv) ICT Investment opportunities abound in; innovation labs, software development, cloud computing, device manufacturing/assembly and ICT education and training centers.
Before I conclude my statement, I wish to reiterate our invitation to the Indian Business Community to visit Rwanda particularly during the forth coming Africa CEO forum scheduled for 25-26th March 2019 in Kigali to explore investment opportunities and the attractive incentives provided by the Government of Rwanda.
Once again and on behalf of H.E. Paul Kagame, I wish to thank the Government of India for the invitation to participate in the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit, as well as the Government of Gujarat for the warm hospitality extended to me and my delegation.
I thank you for your kind attention.
ALSO Read: Minister Nduhungirehe represents Rwanda’s President at Gujarat Summit
