New Delhi, Nov 16 (UNI) Rwanda's President Paul Kagame has invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to participate in the next Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) summit to be held in his country in 2022, during a call on him by Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan in Kigali.
During the meeting, President Kagame also conveyed his greetings to Prime Minster Modi and spoke about the strategic partnership between India and Rwanda and expressed his desire to work with India to achieve the full potential of this special relationship, an official statement said.
MoS briefed the President about the deliberations that were held in the first India-Rwanda Joint Commission Meeting (JCM). He also recalled President Kagame’s visits to India and thanked him for addressing the Raisina Dialogue virtually in April 2021. He invited President Kagame to visit India for an official visit.
MoS Muraleedharan Co-Chaired the JCM with Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Rwanda, Dr. Vincent Biruta. Both sides discussed the existing state of bilateral relations in areas of mutual interest including health, energy, agriculture, ICT, education, civil aviation, culture, defence, security and infrastructure development and expressed interest to enhance cooperation in these areas.
The two sides also discussed regional, international and multilateral issues. Both sides agreed to work with each other for early conclusion of pending MoUs and carry forward the work under the existing institutional mechanisms. The Rwandan side expressed their thanks for the developmental aid and co-operation being provided by India.
During the visit, MoS visited the Nyabarongo Hydro-electric Power project which was completed in 2015 under Government of India's Lines of Credit of US$ 80 million.
He also visited the Kigali Genocide Memorial and paid floral tributes. During the visit, MoS inaugurated the India-Rwanda Entrepreneurship Development centre in Kigali, which has been built with Indian grant assistance. MoS interacted with the Indian community and appreciated their contribution in building socio-cultural & commercial ties between the two countries.
Muraleedharan’s visit to Rwanda helped to sustain the momentum created by the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Rwanda in 2018 and marked the successful holding of the first ever Joint Commission Meeting that set out a road map for future engagements, the statement said.
The MoS was on a two day official visit to Rwanda to Co-Chair the first India-Rwanda Joint Commission Meeting (JCM), from November 14-15.
UNI/RN