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Submitted by ctv_en_5 on Fri, 05/23/2008 - 14:00
Rwandan President Paul Kagame began a four-day official friendship visit to Vietnam on May 23 at the invitation of State President Nguyen Minh Triet.

During the visit, Mr Kagame is expected to have talks with Mr Triet Nguyen Minh Triet and meet with Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh and Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.

Both sides will discuss measures to promote their bilateral cooperation in economics, trade, education and healthcare and share their experiences in agricultural development and poverty reduction.

 

The Republic of Rwanda is situated in Central Africa and its capital is Kigali. Its neighbors are the Democratic Republic of Congo to the west, Uganda to the north, Burundi to the south, and Tanzania to the east.

 

The Republic of Rwanda was established on July 1, 1962 and its first President was Gregoire Kayibanda. In April 2000, Vice President Paul Kagame was nominated as President by the Government and Parliament. In August 2003, he was officially elected as Rwandan President, winning an overwhelming majority of votes.

 

In recent years, the socio-political situation in Rwanda has been relatively stable. The current administration is determined to adjust the country after the genocide, promote national reconciliation, ensure security and national stability, boost economic development, combat corruption and reduce poverty and diseases.

 

Rwanda reached the relatively high economic growth rate of 5.8 percent in 2006 with a total domestic income of US$13.5 billion. The country is quite rich in natural resources with tin and gold mines. Agriculture, services and industry account for nearly 41 percent, 38 percent and more than 21 percent of the country’s economic structure, respectively. Rwanda exports tin ore, coffee, tea and leather while importing petroleum, machinery, equipment, cement and building materials. Its key trade partners are the European Union, the US, Indonesia, China and Malaysia.

 

In terms of external relations, Rwanda carries out a policy of diversifying its relations with priority given to developed industrial countries aimed at making the most of their capital and expertise. It is a member of a number of international and regional organisations and is an economy that has a voice in the region. As a member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the East African Community (EAC), Rwanda has taken full advantage of aid from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and actively supported the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD).

 

Vietnam and Rwanda established diplomatic ties in 1975 and bilateral relations have progressed over recent years. Both parties have exchanged high-level visits, including the first visit to Vietnam by the Rwandan Foreign Minister in 2002.

At present, the Vietnamese Ambassador holds office concurrently in Tanzania and Rwanda while the Rwandan Ambassador in Bejing is also in charge of Vietnam.

 

Rwanda wants to learn from Vietnam in education and training and agricultural development, particularly in irrigation and wet rice planting. The country also wants to cooperate with Vietnam based on the 2+1 model that Vietnam is implementing with a number of other African nations.


The two countries have signed a framework agreement on bilateral cooperation in economics, trade, culture, science and technology.

 

In 2006, two-way trade turnover reached more than US$2.6 million of which Vietnam exported more than US$2.5 million and imported more than US$100,000.

 

It is hoped that Rwandan President Paul Kagame’s visit will help to further strengthen relations between the two countries in line with their potential.

 

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