Visiting former Archbishop of Canterbury, George Leonard Carey, has described Rwanda as a happy and fast developing country after positively responding to post-Genocide challenges.

Carey made the remarks yesterday, shortly after he had paid a courtesy call on President Paul Kagame at Village Urugwiro in Kigali.

He was last in Rwanda in 1995, shortly after the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, and he noted that the country had significantly improved since then.

"This country has responded magnificently. It’s now vibrant and is getting over all the miseries of what happened in those terrible days. This is now a strong and buoyant country that is going in the right direction,” he said.

Over the last 20 years, Rwanda has maintained a burgeoning economy—at about 8 per cent annual growth on average in the last ten years—and with outstanding indicators in the ease of doing business and fighting corruption.

Tearfund for the poor

Carey, Archbishop of Canterbury from 1991 to 2002, was accompanied to his meeting with President Kagame by representatives of Tearfund, a UK-based charity that supports the poor communities in more than 50 countries, including Rwanda.

The Minister for Local Government, James Musoni, told the media that the meeting was generally about thanking the Head of State for leading Rwanda to development over the last 20 years.

Musoni said Tearfund runs poverty reduction projects in 15 districts in Rwanda, including activities in farming and fighting against gender-based violence.

Carey lauded government’s "pro-people approach to governance” and encouraged the Head of State tostay the course.

"A president is a servant of the people. It’s the people who matter and that should be up most in his mind and I’m sure it is,” he said.

Also present during the meeting was Onesphore Rwaje, the Archbishop of the Anglican Church in Rwanda.