As Rwanda and Barbados move to strengthen ties, President Paul Kagame believes that going forward, there is need to find concrete ways to deepen cooperation.

President Kagame made the remarks during his one-day official visit to the Caribbean nation on Saturday. 

In Barbados, the head of state paid a courtesy call on Sandra Mason, President of Barbados.

Kagame also held a tête-a-tête as well as bilateral talks with the Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley where they witnessed the signing of an agreement aimed at strengthening cooperation between Rwanda and Barbados.

Both countries, Kagame said, are separated by a great distance, but have some common challenges, and a lot of experiences to share with each other, in that sense ‘feeling’ very close.

"We are going to be finding concrete ways to deepen the cooperation between our two countries, going forward,” he said. 

Kagame also observed that through Prime Minister Mottley’s leadership, Barbados has been making a mark in global affairs. 

He further congratulated the Government and people of Barbados, for successfully navigating the country’s transition to a republic.

On November 30, 2021, Barbados transitioned from a parliamentary constitutional monarchy under the hereditary monarch of Barbados to a parliamentary republic.

"Let’s build on the recent CARICOM-Africa Summit, which took place in September last year, to continue aligning our priorities, and spur more direct cooperation between the Caribbean and Africa,” he said. 

Fighting the pandemic 

According to Prime Minister Mottley, the countries partnership can pay dividends in the fight against COVID-19.

Mottley said she was particularly interested in the plan to establish a COVID-19 manufacturing plant in Rwanda.

As a result, she announced that Minister of Industry, Science and Technology Davidson Ishmael would be travelling to Rwanda with the hope of expanding investment opportunities.

"Our first interest of course is in seeing what potential there is with the vaccine manufacturing entity that Rwanda is establishing, recognising that the vaccine for Covid-19 is just one small commodity of what that manufacturing capacity can be for,” she told the media. 

The Prime Minister also noted that other talks including a Bilateral Investment Treaty as well as towards a Multilateral Air Services Agreement are ongoing. 

"I think all of us agree and we are coming closer I hope to its resolution that there must be air connectivity between the continent of Africa and the Caribbean region…” the Prime Minister noted.