President Paul Kagame, yesterday, received credentials of four foreign envoys appointed by their respective nations to Rwanda.

The envoys of Germany, Singapore, Finland and Portugal all expressed interest in strengthening ties between their nations and Rwanda.

They pledged to strengthen ties across multiple areas, including business, private sector development for mutual benefits of their respective countries and Rwanda.

Afonso Henriques Abreu de Azeredo Malheiro, the Ambassador of Portugal to Rwanda, said recent years have seen the two nations pursue economic interests through the private sector.

Goldsol II Limited, a Portuguese firm in the energy sector, has invested in a project worth about $48.2 million, while Mota Engil Engenharia e Construcao Africa SA, a Portuguese firm that deals in civil construction, last month took over the construction of Bugesera International Airport.

The deal, worth $818 million, will see the firm construct and complete the airport by December 2018 and later run the facility’s operations for 25 years with an option to extend by another 15 years.

The envoy said the two agreements were a good start to economic ties which the two countries hope to deepen in coming years.

The President also received credentials of Chelvaretnam Rajah, the new Singaporean envoy to Rwanda. 

Rajah said the two countries have enjoyed friendly ties after establishing diplomatic relations in 2005.

"With regards to going forward, we hope to build on the present excellent platform that we have with each other and identify those areas of mutual interest where we can help each other achieve (our goals),” he said.

"We will work on economic areas to promote each other’s interests, common interests in international organisations.”

Dr Peter Woeste, the new Germany ambassador to Rwanda, also presented his credentials to the Head of State.

Dr Woeste said the two countries are on a good trend in terms of cooperation owing to work done in recent years. 

The envoy expressed interest in learning more about the country and the people to help advance bilateral cooperation.

President Kagame also received credentials of Pekka Juhani Hukka, the ambassador of Finland to Rwanda, who will be based in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

With Finland having expertise and advanced technologies in energy and sustainable development in areas such as clean technology, the new envoy said that Rwanda could benefit greatly from their partnership.

"We have a lot in common but there is room for more cooperation in the area of private sector development, trade, energy. We have good expertise in energy, for example, in the Lake Kivu Methane gas plant, there is some Finnish technology already in use. Also on sustainable development and energy solutions such as biogas, clean tech, there are a lot of openings,” he said.

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