The Rwandan Cultural Troupe has been officially invited to perform at the ongoing World Expo in Shanghai, China.

Rwanda, has a stand at the multi-billion dollar Expo and its delegation is led by Emmanuel Hategeka, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce.

"The Rwanda cultural troupe has been officially invited to perform from July 1st to 13th including performances during Rwanda’s liberation day on July 4. Expenses for the troupe have been wholly sponsored by the Government of China,” Hategeka said in a statement.

"The whole team is made of seven people – three from Government institutions and four from Private sector,” Hategeka said in an e-mail, saying that the team will be rotated on a monthly basis for the 6-month duration of the Expo.

Rwanda’s pavilion which is among those that are most visited "has been constructed in a way that our culture is mixed with modern technology creating an amazing harmony of the whole contents.”

"So far we have been visited by high dignitaries including the President of Kenya and the Food and Agricultural Organization Representative in China,” Hategeka said.

"The Rwanda pavilion continues to have long queues of visitors wishing to have their Expo passports signed as proof of having visited the Rwanda pavilion.”

Rwandan products being exhibited include coffee, tea, handcrafts, the new Kigali Master Plan and a variety of information combining general information on Rwanda, tourism sector, Rwandan culture and investments opportunities.

"We plan to have a live show in the pavilion of a woman weaving the famous Agaseke basket,”  he said.

The Rwanda pavilion aims to, among many things, market Rwanda as an African iconic tourism and investment destination that ranks among the top 67 in doing business in the world as well as promote the new image of Rwanda as a country of peace and stability.

The Shanghai World Expo 2010 is expected to be visited by around 70 million people and international organizations are participating including 42 African countries.

The world Expo is organized every 5 years and Rwanda has participated in the last two editions – 2000 Hanover, Germany and 2005 in Aichi, Japan.

Ends