The Chinese Embassy in Rwanda has donated over Rwf 39m towards the Presidential Fund as a gesture of good cooperation between the two counties.

The money will go into projects initiated and funded by the Presidential Fund, a charity initiative mooted by President Paul Kagame that supports needy people who fall into different categories.

The donation was received on behalf of the President by Rosemary Museminali, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation during a ceremony that took place at the ministry headquarters.

The Chinese Ambassador to Rwanda, Sun Shuzhong, said that his country will continue donating money to the Presidential Fund initiative on an annual basis to help support the poor and needy in the Rwandan society.

Shuzhong said that the donation, though not much, is a sign of good relations that exist between Rwanda and China which have continued to grow over the years.

He pledged to continue strengthening bilateral relations between the two countries during his term of office in order to take the Rwanda-China Cooperation to a higher level.

Shuzhong said that the donation which is equivalent to $70,000 will be earmarked annually from administrative expenditure of the Chinese Embassy in Rwanda to support urgent programmes or initiatives supported by the Presidential Fund. 

The Ambassador said that despite the global financial meltdown which has sent shockwaves across the globe, not including the Chinese economy, China remains committed to its policy on Africa.

"As a good friend and partner of Rwanda, we are committed as always to strengthen the friendly relations and cooperation between our two nations. We stand ready to make our contribution to the current economic and social development of Rwanda,” said Shuzhong.

Minister Museminali thanked China for its continued support to development projects in Rwanda and commended the Chinese Ambassador for the gesture of donating towards the Fund.

"China remains our good partner in development and we are looking forward to strengthening the diplomatic and bilateral relations between our two countries,” said Museminali.

The Minister and the Ambassador also discussed different projects in the country supported by the Chinese Government, including the new headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs whose construction is being funded by China.

Also discussed is the upcoming visit of the Chinese Foreign Minister, Yang Jiechi that is scheduled for next week.

Ends