Message from Ambassador

Dear visitors of our website,

The presidential election was held in Rwanda on August 4. Incumbent president Paul Kagame was re-elected with 98.8 % of the votes. It is thought to be the demonstration of the broad support among the Rwandan people for the achievements of the Kagame Administration, which realized the remarkable economic development in Rwanda, what is described as the “miracle of Africa.” The inauguration ceremony of the president was magnificently held at the Amahoro Stadium in Kigali on August 18. Edouard Ngirente was nominated as Prime Minister on August 30 and other ministers were appointed on the following day. With the formation of the cabinet, the new Kagame Administration has officially started.

New Prime Minister Ngirente holds Ph.D. in economics and experiences in teaching at the University of Rwanda. He had no career as a politician and had worked for the World Bank until recently. In this sense he has an unusual politician and I am looking forward to his success as the prime minister. In the new cabinet many of the ministers remain in their position, while some posts of ministers were newly established in accordance with the needs of the times. The new cabinet became the foundation for the Rwandan government that will bolster the new Kagame Administration in the next seven years.

Meanwhile, bilateral relations between Japan and Rwanda made steady progress. Just recently, on August 25, Mr. Taro Kono, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, met with Mrs. Louise Mushikiwabo, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Rwanda on the occasion of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) Ministerial Meeting in Mozambique. Furthermore, a new school building of the École Technique de Kabgayi (ETEKA) in Muhanga District was constructed with Japan’s assistance and we celebrated its inauguration with more than thousand students of the school on August 31.

Traditionally, Rwanda is a clean and safe country. Now Rwanda is quite stable politically with the government getting overwhelming support from its population. It is also notable that Rwanda is one of the least corrupt countries in Africa. About one year has passed since my arrival in Rwanda as Ambassador of Japan, and it has seen a great increase in the number of Japanese companies registered in Rwanda. Most of them are run by young passionate Japanese businessmen who are convinced of entrepreneurship. The Embassy of Japan has been, and will be, actively engaged in the support for Japanese private enterprises. I expect that more young Japanese entrepreneurs will start business in Rwanda.

Takayuki MIYASHITA

Ambassador of Japan to Rwanda

April 2017
July 2016