BEIJING - Rwandans living in China are set to participate in the forthcoming presidential elections in August, after registering for the exercise, a Rwandan top diplomat has said. 

In an exclusive interview with The New Times, Ben Rugangazi, Rwanda’s Ambassador to China, observed that while the number of Rwandans living in China is relatively small, the majority have registered with the embassy to cast their vote.

"We are well prepared though we do not have such a large Rwandan Diaspora because mainly Rwandans who live in China are students. The other Rwandans who live in China are temporarily visitors, who come to do business and go back,” Rugangazi said on Thursday.

He noted that the embassy has registered over 120 Rwandans in China to take part in the voting exercise.
"Rwandans living around Beijing will be the main voters but we are also trying to encourage even those from the other provinces to participate. For students, their movements are limited because they do not have resources,” he observed.

Rugangazi also hailed relations between China and his home country referring to them as "quiet healthy and growing” due to existence of mutual support and cooperation on both sides.

"China has been supporting Rwanda in a number of development projects especially in the sectors of agriculture, health and education as well as infrastructure.”
Rugangazi cited several Chinese supported projects in Rwanda including construction of Ministry of Foreign Affairs headquarters and a hospital in Kibungo and several agriculture projects.

"We have also not only seen steady growth in trade between the two countries, but we are now also beginning to see some investment from Chinese coming to Rwanda,” he said. 

According to the envoy, Rwanda will continue to engage their Chinese counterparts to assist the country to achieve its development goals enshrined in Vision 2020.

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