The British minister for the Department for International Development (DFID), James Wharton, has arrived in Rwanda for an official visit.

Upon arrival, he travelled to Musanze District, where he is meeting with the Governor of the Northern Province and the district mayor, as well as visiting UK-funded development and social protection programmes.

In Musanze, he visited and saw firsthand the impact of Vision Umurenge Programme(VUP)  and other social sector programmes.

Wharton was also scheduled to visit a potato chip factory in the district.

Later in the day, the visiting British minister is scheduled to hold talks with government officials after which both sides will address a reception at the UK High Commissioner’s residence in Kacyiru, according to the programme seen by The New Times.  

In an earlier statement, the UK High Commission said the visit will focus on areas of mutual interest between the two countries, including poverty reduction, education, trade and investment.

"I am looking forward to seeing first-hand the remarkable progress that Rwanda has made over the last twenty years. I am proud that the UK has been able to support Rwanda on this journey – contributing to its achievement of lifting over 1.5 million people out of poverty in recent years - and it is great to see the strong partnership that we’ve built,” he said ahead of the trip, the third to Africa since he took office in July.

UK is one of Rwanda’s major development partners.

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