VILLAGE URUGWIRO - Former German President, Horst Köhler, met President Paul Kagame yesterday at Village Urugwiro to exchange ideas on investment in the East African region.

Köhler is in the country to look into ways of bringing Germany closer to East African business people.

Prior to his Rwandan tour, he also visited Tanzania and Uganda.

Speaking to the media after meeting the President, Köhler commended the Head of State for creating a good investment climate.

"I feel that the President is on the right track in his endeavours to find the way forward for Rwanda’s growth, job creation and also the objective to bring sustainable peace in the region,” Köhler said.

The former President hailed Rwanda for her development strides and said that he is interested in attracting German business people to the country.

"The German business community is getting more interested in Africa and they mainly ask for predictability in the conditions for investment. I feel that the conditions for private sector investments are improving in Rwanda,” he said.
 
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Louise Mushikiwabo, who accompanied Köhler, disclosed that the discussions centred around investment in the region.

"He came to discuss with the President about investment in the region because he is now in private business. He wanted to share ideas with the President and wanted to know the strides Rwanda has taken since he last met President Kagame in 2008,” Mushikiwabo said.

She added that Köhler is interested in knowing how the regional integration process is moving; focusing on how the integration can facilitate investment.

Köhler was President of Germany from 2004 to 2010. He was also the President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development from 1998 to 2000 and head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) from 2000 to 2004.

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