President Paul Kagame yesterday joined more than one thousand entrepreneurs, diplomats, politicians and experts for Egypt’s Economic Development Conference, in Sharm el-Sheikh which kicked off Friday afternoon.

 "We are ready and excited to welcome the world to Egypt”, Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab said. "This conference places an important milestone in the government’s road map for the economy” which "aims to bring investment and stability in the region and give prosperity to our people,” a conference note stated.

Speaking to The New Times from Egypt yesterday, Francis Gatare, the CEO of Rwanda Development Board (RDB) said the forum also presents a  platform for Rwanda to pitch investment opportunities available in the country and also find markets for the country’s exports.

The three-day economic summit is aimed at kick starting the Egyptian economy after nearly four years of political turmoil.

Around 2,000 delegates from 112 nations, including 30 heads of state and executives of multinational companies are attending the summit. 

It is these multinational companies that Rwanda is targeting to attract so that they can come and invest in Rwanda.

"We are in Sharm el-Sheikh as a sign of our solidarity with the government of Egypt which invited us to be part of the forum, however we are also aware of the unique investment opportunities this conference presents to Rwanda in terms of those multinational investors attending the forum,” Gatare said.

The conference will showcase the country’s latest fiscal and legal reforms, and Cairo’s economic vision.

The conference will also see various investment opportunities and projects in a variety of sectors presented to potential investors.

 Rwanda is targeting to double its foreign direct investments as part of the efforts for the country to become a middle income economy by 2020.

Efforts to revise the country’s investment code so it suits investor’s expectations are ongoing.

Both Rwanda and Egypt are currently exploring ways to strengthen ties.

Already, there are plans by Ministry of Education and Egypt’s Cairo University to establish a mining and geological centre of excellence in Rwanda.

The centre is expected to greatly strengthen the capacity of the mining ministry through skills development.