Japan’s National Day Reception 2023

The Embassy of Japan held a reception to celebrate the 63rd birthday of His Majesty the Emperor at the Ambassador’s residence on February 23, 2023. The reception was attended by over 100 people, including Hon. Eng. Patricie UWASE, Minister of State, Ministry of Infrastructure, as the guest of honor, Rwandan government officials, diplomatic corps, international organizations, businesses and media . It was a good opportunity to review the recent high-level exchanges between the two countries and to confirm their willingness and expectations to cooperate for further development of Japan-Rwanda relations.
 
In his opening remarks, Ambassador Fukushima talked about the summit meeting between Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and H.E. President Paul Kagame in November 2022, where the two countries agreed to work together not only to strengthen bilateral relations, but also to tackle global challenges and to ensure peace and stability in the region. He also explained that, with regard to development cooperation, the priority areas are infrastructure, agriculture, safe water, science and technology education, while mentioning some prominent on-going projects such as efficient electricity distribution, irrigation, water supply and science and mathematics education using ICT. Such Japanese support will help Rwanda to achieve its VISION 2050.
 

In her address, Hon. State Minister Uwase expressed her birthday wishes to His Majesty the Emperor and thanked Japan for the various assistance contributing to Rwanda's economic and social development and for the active exchange of personnel, including the dispatch of JOCVs, following last year's celebrations of the 60th anniversary of friendship. She also expressed her wish to further develop intergovernmental cooperation, personal exchange and economic relations in pursuit of common interests of the two countries.
 
On this occasion, Japanese companies based in Rwanda showcased some of their products and activities, such as Bloom Hills Rwanda (gentian flowers cultivation and export), Rwanda Nut Company (macadamia nuts production) and Wired-In (ICT), as well as Japanese cars (Green Leaf Motors Ltd.: a plug-in hybrid vehicle), TOYOTA Rwanda (their latest model) and motorbikes (Spear Motors: Yamaha motorbikes). JICA also set up a booth to introduce their activities in Rwanda.