KIGALI - The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Louise Mushikiwabo, has said that the country is committed to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

She made the remarks recently during a MDG follow up meeting held in Tokyo, Japan. The high level ministerial meeting was opened by United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon.

The minister stated that starting from a weak foundation,  in the last 17 years, the country has been able to achieve not only economic growth, but also social development.

Mushikiwabo mentioned that most of these had been achieved through implementing effective policies, collaborative work with partners, and continued evaluation of results.

"In Rwanda, there have been high growth rates since 1995. However by 2005, it became apparent that more efforts were needed to help translate this into faster poverty reduction,” she added.

"What we’ve been trying to do over the last 10 years is to reach out to the poorest while allowing the rest to sustain economic growth through ensuring participation of all in planning, and thus empowering the majority,” she told participants.

During her visit,Mushikiwabo tour,met with various officials,  including Hirofumi Hirano, the Chairman of the Rwanda-Japan Parliamentary Friendship Association.

She thanked the association for their commitment to Rwanda-Japanese relations adding that the two countries shared a common culture of resilience and purpose.

Mushikiwabo also met Cui Tiankai, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of China, and  held talks with AFRECO, the Association of African Economy and Development, headed by Tetsuro Yano. AFRECO is an influential civil society organization that promotes business relations between Japan and African countries.

She also met Minister Takashi Chiaki (Democratic Party of Japan), State Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Japan where she expressed Rwanda’s heartfelt sympathy for the difficulties the country had endured as a result of the recent earthquake and the ensuing Tsunami.

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