INDIAN citizens living in Rwanda yesterday celebrated their country’s 62nd Independence Day with ambitions to cement their country’s bilateral ties with Rwanda. India achieved her independence from British rule in 1947.

Addressing a crowd Indian nationals living in Rwanda at the Hatton and Cookson grounds in Nyarugenge District, Vinod Tharamal, the Honorary Consulate General of India, said that the Independence Day celebration should be a day of paying homage to freedom fighters who sacrificed a lot to liberate their country.

"Today is an occasion to recall that under the inspiring leadership of Mahatma Gandhi, our freedom struggle was fought and won on the noble principles of truth and non-violence,” he said and added that this makes it a unique movement in the History of Nations.

He said that India’s progress has now gone beyond borders and bilateral ties between India and other countries have improved tremendously.

India has been supporting Rwanda in different sectors including Education, Health Energy among others.

A memorandum of Understanding between India’s  Ministry of Human Resources and Rwanda’s Ministry of Education was signed for a broader level of collaboration in the area of Education.

The memorandum mainly focuses on support of Tertiary Institutions, providing scholarships and subsidised cost of higher Education for Rwandan students in India.

Through the AZM PREMJI foundation, two million dollars will be spent in the next six years to disseminate Computer knowledge to Rwandan Children between six to fourteen years.

In the Energy Sector, the RAJASTHAN Electricity Corporation – a public Sector undertaking in the state of RAJASTHAN in India, agreed to provide support to the Ministry of Infrastructure to establish Solar Powered Electricity for Thirty-Five Schools in the country that are not connected with grid power.

Rwanda and India share a vision 2020 which identifies six interwoven pillars including good governance, vibrant Private Sector, World class physical Infrastructure, to mention but a few.   

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