The Kingdom of The Netherlands and Republic of South Korea are looking to step up commercial ties and increase mutual business opportunities with Rwanda, according to new envoys of the two nations.

Park Yong Min, the South Korean ambassador to Rwanda, and Frederique Maria de Man, of The Netherlands, disclosed this after presenting their credentials to President Paul Kagame at Village Urugwiro in Kigali yesterday morning.

Park said among his areas of focus will be linking people of the two countries, to learn and share more about each other, leading to pursuit of business interests by citizens of both countries.

With both nations having a number of similarities and practices, Park said, there will be a lot of cooperation in the areas of broadband, agriculture and human resource development.

Rwanda is on the list of eight priority nations for South Korea in the African continent, the ambassador said, adding that the close ties will serve the mutual interests of citizens of the two countries.

On her part, Maria de Man of Netherlands said her country’s decades’ long cooperation with Rwanda would continue and would also diversify to mutual business interests and commercial exchanges for citizens of the two nations.

Dutch committee to visit

The envoy said that she would continue to strengthen ties between the two nations and also promote advancements in programmes such as integrated water projects and further development of the justice systems.

Meanwhile, according to the Dutch Embassy First Secretary, Vasco Rodrigues, a delegation of the Committee for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation of the Netherland’s House of Representatives is today expected to begin a five-day national visit.

The group, comprising about eight Dutch members of parliament, seeks to examine the current state of affairs in the Dutch-Rwanda cooperation in the fields of trade and economic development as well as learn more about the current political and economic situation.

While in the country, the delegation will hold meetings with Members of Parliament and government officials, conduct field visits to several projects in the field of justice, private sector development, food security as well as pay a visit to the Mahama Refugee Camp that hosts Burundian refugees.

The Netherlands is among Rwanda’s top development partners working in multiple areas, including water, food security, private sector development, judiciary and agriculture, among other areas.

In May, this year, the two governments signed two financing agreements totaling about €44.9 million (about Rwf36 billion).

The grants were to fund water projects and to implement and maintain quality Technical and Vocational Education and Training programmes.

The Netherlands is credited with playing an important role in facilitating post-Genocide justice, especially through funding of Gacaca courts which helped Rwanda in carrying out what is seen as one of the most inclusive judicial processes in the world.

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