Rwanda and Japan hold 7th Annual Policy Dialogue, 13th August 2010

 

The 7th annual policy dialogue on the Japanese Official Development Assistance (ODA) to the Republic of Rwanda was held on 13th August 2010 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation. The dialogue was attended by Honourable Ms. Louise Mushikiwabo, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation and the Permanent Secretaries of the Ministries of Finance and Economic Planning, Infrastructure, Education, Trade and Industry as well as by H.E. Mr. Kunio Hatanaka, Ambassador of Japan and Mr. Murakami, Resident Representative of JICA.

Honourable Minister MUSHIKIWABO in her opening remarks emphasized that Rwanda valued the relationship between both countries and this policy dialogue was a sign of mutual respect that would strengthen the partnership with Japan. She expressed her appreciation that Japan had accepted the Division of Labor (DoL) framework at the last DPCG Meeting, and her expectation that Japan side continues various kinds of inputs in Japan’s three priority areas comprehending significant sectors of DoL. She also hailed impressive achievements realized with Japanese supports in the sectors that were essential for the country’s economic growth. 

In his speech, H.E. Ambassador HATANAKA indicated that this dialogue came in a very special moment due to the opening of the Embassy of Japan in Kigali in January 2010 and expressed confidence that existing cordial and open discussions would be strengthened. He applauded the Rwanda’s rapid development pace which was reflected in a presentation made in May 2010 in Arusha during the TICAD IV follow up meeting. He also mentioned that while the ongoing ODA Review in Japan showed hardship to future projects by Japanese ODA, the Japanese side would try hard to continuously cooperate with Rwanda, since supporting Africa still remained a priority issue.

The Government of Japan and the Government of Rwanda agreed that the areas of “Human Resources Development”, “Rural Development”, and “Economic Infrastructure and Industrial Development” continue to be the three Priority Areas of the economic cooperation between the two countries. Reflecting the DoL agreed at the DPCG meeting held on 9 July, the Government of Japan paid its respect to the initiatives taken by the Government of Rwanda for the aid coordination, and pledged its support as much as possible. Therefore, in the course of future project formation, the Government of Japan will concentrate its focus on ‘agriculture’, ‘education’, and ‘water and sanitation’ sectors, which were allocated in DoL, and ‘energy’ and ‘transport and ICT’ sectors, for which Japan has become a ‘silent partner’. On the other hand, the Government of Japan and the Government of Rwanda agreed that although some of the projects which are already in the pipeline are not in the above-mentioned five sectors, during this transition period of DoL implementation, these projects should be considered regardless of DoL.