The Minister of Finance, John Rwangombwa, has praised the European Union (EU) for being one of the exemplary partners in the development of the country.

Speaking during the signing of Rwf 56.5 bn grant at the ministry headquarters, Rwangombwa said; "This is one of the many others; and not just a stand-alone, but a continuation of what we have had for a long time”
"It is all linked to our good implementation of the programmes and I thank the EU for being one of the exemplary partners when it comes to aligning aid to budget support.

"On behalf of government, I want to assure the EU that we will continue to strengthen our financial management to ensure that every penny will be accounted for so as to guarantee continued improvements in welfare and development of our people.” he said.

The grant will be used to improve transport infrastructure, good governance and rural development.

The head of the EU delegation in Rwanda, Ambassador Michel Arrion, stressed that EU is  delighted with Rwanda’s use of donor aid.

"These five funding agreements are in fact – mainly budget support – there are not many African countries in our relationship with the ACP that benefit from that kind of support,” Arrion noted.

The EU is among the first donors to align with the government policy, as well as the Paris Declaration of 2005, that stresses that the required primary aid modality is budget support.

Half of the current EU funds will flow through sector budget support and, Rwf 24.5 billion will go into the rehabilitation of the Kigali-Gatuna road, a significant segment of the northern corridor linking Rwanda to Uganda, and the Kenyan port of Mombasa.

Work on the road will start in the second quarter of this year and it will be enlarged to a track width of seven metres to comply with EAC standards.

As revealed during the ceremony, Rwanda will know what other grants will be provided by the EU in the next three months, after the European bloc has completed its routine mid-term review exercise.

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