Rwanda has enormous opportunities for investment, especially in areas such as the horticulture sector, Frédérique de Man, Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, has said.
The envoy made the remarks yesterday at the office of Prime Minister Edouard Ngirente to whom she was bidding farewell following the completion of her tour of duty.
She said that once she returns to her home country, she will engage the business community there "on the enormous opportunities available in Rwanda, especially in the area of agriculture, particularly horticulture.”
Frédérique de Man, the outgoing Dutch Ambassador to Rwanda told journalists that Rwanda's relations with the Netherlands have always been good and she is leaving them in good state, Friday, June 28, 2019 (Courtesy)
"We are talking about export to Europe, but I think that the neighbouring region is also extremely important. And with the opening up of the DRC [the Democratic Republic of the Congo], that offers enormous possibility,” she said.
She said that The Netherlands have already many investments in Rwanda, citing BRALIRWA Brewery owned by Heineken; Africa Improved Food, as well as Unilever, a British-Dutch consumer goods company which has ventured into Rwanda’s tea sector.
"There is already huge Dutch presence and hope we will continue to build further on that. I hope also that there will be more small and medium entreprises, [both] Dutch and Rwandans working together,” she said.
Advancing Rwanda’s development
Ambassador de Man said that, along with the Prime Minister, they discussed a report titled the Future Drivers of Growth in Rwanda.
The report, which is a joint initiative of the Government of Rwanda and the World Bank Group, indicated six priority areas on which Rwanda should focus in order to sustain its progress.
The areas are; highly developed human capital, competitive domestic enterprises, well-managed urbanisation, capable and accountable institutions, modern agriculture/food sector, and trade and regional integration.
"And it is a very important report which shows where Rwanda wants to be, and how to get there. So we talked about the importance of this report, and what Rwandan Government is doing in implementing the recommendations of that report,” she said.
The Netherlands, she said, is also helping to implement [some of] such recommendations.
"For example, we have a huge programme called HortInvest and it is working to develop several value chains in the horticultural sector. So I am expecting a lot of that programme not only for export, but also to export in the region.
Ambassador de Man presented to President Paul Kagame her letters of credence, allowing her to represent her country in Rwanda on August 14, 2015.
Her tour of duty will come to an end on July 23, 2019.
"I think the relationship of Rwanda and the Netherlands has always been good. So, I found it to be very good and I leave it in good shape,” she said before adding, "so my successor can take the relationship one step further.”
editor@newtimesrwanda.com