The United Kingdom and Northern Ireland have signed a non-budget aid support of £10 million (Rwf 32.6billion) to support the government’s Vision 2020 Umurenge Programme (VUP). The support will be channeled through UK’s Department for International Development (DFID).The funds will go to the Social Protection Support to the Poorest in Rwanda (SPSPR) programme. Under a memorandum of understanding between the two governments, the funds will be disbursed in five tranches with the first, of Rwf 10.2bn, to be disbursed this month. Speaking after the signing ceremony yesterday in Kigali, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning Claver Gatete said that the funds would help uplift poor communities."The funds will target VUP components such as financing public works and creating employment for the poor,” Gatete said.The support is expected to benefit some 97,000 households through direct support in 416 sectors while 80,000 households will benefit from public works in 156 sectors."We are on the course of achieving below 30 per cent of poverty level by 2017. The United Kingdom is not only supporting us in this cause but also in financial inclusion,” Gatete said. Mike Hammond, head of DFID said the main aim was to not leave behind anyone in the push for economic growth."The ultimate objective is to lift everyone out of poverty. One million Rwandans were lifted out of poverty in the last five years and this is an achievement but there still is a lot to be done,” said Hammond.Hammond added that this demonstrated the good relationship between Rwanda and the United Kingdom and that they looked forward to working with the Ministry of Local Government to build capacities and create a system that takes care of every Rwandan.United Kingdom is among the main development partners of Rwanda. In 1999, the Government of Rwanda and United Kingdom signed the first Memorandum of Understanding that shaped UK’s official development assistance to Rwanda.Under the current division labour framework, UK is active in education, social protection and financial sector.