Rwanda and the State of Israel have stepped up their partnership and cooperation by signing three bilateral agreements as ground for future partnerships.

The agreements were signed, yesterday, in Kigali during the state visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

VIDEO: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to Rwanda. Source: TheNewTimes/YouTube

Netanyahu, who visited Rwanda as part of his four-country African tour, was accompanied by his wife Sara Netanyahu, and a delegation of government officials and business leaders from Israel.

The three agreements are in the areas of joint declaration of intent on innovation, visa exemption for holders of diplomatic passports, and joint declaration in the field of agriculture.

Addressing reporters after the signing, President Kagame said the cooperation between the two states was partly informed by the similarities in their historical contexts. 

He said the past had led the countries to prioritise human resources and capacity building. 

"Given the two histories of the state of Israel and Rwanda, we have been formed and shaped to think and do things in a certain way based mainly on the major resource we have, that is our people, the other resources come after,” Kagame said.

The President noted that the areas of cooperation were mostly around capacity building as the country surges forward to implement its vision.

Kagame observed that in some areas, the cooperation had been existent for years and had contributed to national progress.

In June 2014, Rwanda signed a partnership agreement with Israel that established a forum for consultations between the two States, and boosted Rwanda’s foreign direct investments from Israeli businesses.

"There are new areas as we go forward such as water management. Israel has a lot of capacity that not only Rwanda but the rest of Africa can benefit from. Israel manages scarcity of water resources better than anyone in this world,” Kagame said.  

"For us, the problem is different, we do not lack water, we have scarcity of knowledge as to how to manage water for our benefit, for agriculture and productivity. That is a huge area for cooperation as far as we are concerned,” he said. 

Kagame said Rwanda was also keen on tapping into the expertise and capacities in agriculture productivity as well as other areas such as capacity building in energy and infrastructure development.

"Israel has made huge advancements in areas of technology of agriculture that has multiplied the productivity better than you see anywhere else. We are very keen on tapping into this and other areas of capacity building such as areas of infrastructure, energy and other aspects,” he added.

The cooperation will also extend to security, which was termed as the foundation of other ambitions.

Netanyahu said that there were multiple opportunities for cooperation between Israel and countries such as Rwanda beyond government to government relations, such as business ties.

Among the areas he noted Rwanda can benefit from in the cooperation is many aspects of technology which Israel has so far advanced in. 

"There are many areas of cooperation not only in government to government programmes but also business to business and business to government. We have excellent Israeli companies which I think would do well not only for themselves but also for Rwanda and other countries,” the Israeli Prime Minster said.

Netanyahu celebrated Rwanda’s vibrancy and determination which he said had seen the country accomplish much in a short time.

He observed that the two countries were similar in ways including turning themselves around and rising after tragic pasts.

"We both persevered despite the pain, and despite the hurt, we survived. We never lost hope and you never lost hope. Today Israel and Rwanda are successful states and models for progress,” he said.

Tribute to Genocide victims

Earlier in the day, Netanyahu and his wife Sara, in the company of the President and First Lady Jeannette Kagame, visited Kigali Memorial Centre in Gisozi to pay tribute to victims of the Genocide against the Tutsi.

In his comments on the Genocide and the memorial, Netanyahu wrote that they were deeply moved and reminded of the Holocaust.

"These achievements are even more impressive given the horrors you had to overcome. This morning we went through an exceptional memorial, haunting even I would say, to see the pictures of children, sometimes babies, their briefest life stories put before us. Families that were cut down by neighbours, ended by people they lived next to all their lives,” he said regarding the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.

Netanyahu, who later departed for Ethiopia – his last destination as he winds up his tour of Africa – is the first sitting Israeli Prime Minister to travel to Africa since Yitzhak Rabin visited Morocco in 1994.

Israel’s cabinet approved a proposal on June 25 to open offices of Israel’s Agency for International Development in Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya and Ethiopia.

Netanyahu’s African visit comes at a time when the state of Israel is launching a $13-million aid package to strengthen economic ties and cooperation with African countries.

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