KIGALI - Rwanda is well on track in achieving the Millennium Development Goals, (MDGs) Louise Mushikiwabo, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Government spokesperson said, yesterday.

In an interview ahead of the first meeting of the MDGs Advocacy Group in Madrid, Mushikiwabo said that Rwanda has registered tremendous progress.

"Rwanda ranks quite well in the achievement of the MGD’s and that is certainly why President Paul Kagame is one of the co-chairs of this (advocacy) group,” she said.

Mushikiwabo added that cutting down the levels of poverty remains the biggest challenge despite the country fairing well in other areas and that the government has laid strategies on how to reduce poverty levels among Rwandans -  MDG 1.

Mushikiwabo, who is in Madrid to take part in the global meeting, said that Rwanda still faces some challenges in achieving the health MDG but highlighted that substantive progress has been made in maternal health and reducing malaria.

According to Mushikiwabo, the meeting "is a very important energizing exercise” for the MDG’s. The advocacy group will seek ways to boost or speed up countries to achieve the goals.

Others on the group, announced by the UN last month, include Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus of Bangladesh, former Chilean president, Michelle Bachelet, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, CNN’s founder, Ted Turner and Jeffrey Sachs of The Earth Institute and professor at Columbia University.

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