KIGALI - Prime Minister Bernard Makuza, has revealed that his recent visit to the Indian State of Gujarat was successful, with numerous Indian and global investors being convinced to open businesses in Rwanda.

The Premier, travelled to India on behalf of President Paul Kagame, where he was the Chief Guest at the 5th Vibrant Gujarat Summit that attracted delegates from over 100 countries.

"Rwanda was invited as a model African country in facilitating investment,” Makuza said in a news conference, yesterday.

"On the sidelines of the summit, there was a special meeting about Rwanda and over 35 globally recognized investors expressed high interest in investing in the country.”

Makuza who led the Rwanda’s sales pitch at the two-day Vibrant Gujarat summit, spoke about the opportunities, especially in agriculture, energy, tourism, information technology, mining and real estate.

He also held talks with Gujarat’s Chief Minister, Narendra Modi, and agreed to sign a trade and investment agreement between the State of Gujarat and Rwanda.

"We are moving to a higher level, so far, some investors who made commitments during the summit have already sent their technical teams while others will be jetting in, in about one or two months,” Makuza said.

The Premier revealed that Pujar Group expressed interest to extract methane gas from Lake Kivu to produce  about 100MW, while other Indian investors committed to the renovation of the remaining 17MW of Nyabarongo hydropower plant.

"There was also a commitment made on the US$60m funding that would be invested in irrigation,” Makuza added.

Part of the Premier’s team to Gujarat included members of the Private Sector Federation, officials from the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) and government officials.
"Rwandan investors were in Gujarat to market their products and enter joint ventures with other investors,” said RDB CEO, John Gara.

Meanwhile, India’s Universal Empire Infrastructures (UEIL) Company, recently, signed a pact with the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) to invest $250m for a knowledge hub and an integrated food park in Rwanda.

The agreement focuses on the establishment of a knowledge hub that entails a multi-disciplinary university which will have strong partnerships with various world renowned institutions of learning.

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