Rwanda has signed a host country agreement with the Turkish Maarif Foundation, which will benefit the education sector, especially in Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET).

The agreement was signed between the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Dr. Vincent Biruta and Mehmet Özkan, Executive Board Member of the Turkish Maarif Foundation, on May 15.

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The development follows other bilateral cooperation agreements between both countries signed earlier this year, including general cooperation, culture, as well as science, technology and innovation.

The Foundation is a Turkish institution under the Education Ministry which runs hundreds of schools across the world with the support of Turkish public money.

Turkey is known as one of the countries that are most advanced in implementing TVET, a field that Rwanda has, for the past years, embarked on investing in and promoting as alternative institutions providing hands-on skills required for the job market.

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Rwanda is attracting international academic institutions that provide a quality education that is desperately needed to position the country into a knowledge-based economy.

Already, it is home to widely recognized institutions like Carnegie Mellon University, African Leadership University, Oklahoma University, and the African Institute of Mathematical Sciences, and others.

Besides the education sector, Rwanda and Turkey enjoy strong bilateral ties as seen across various sectors in hospitality, construction, and trade.

For instance, Turkish firms have been part of the construction of different projects such as the Kigali Convention Centre, BK Arena, and the ongoing renovation of Amahoro Stadium.

And the investments in Rwanda’s hospitality sector by Doğuş Group that announced plans to set up at least three luxury resort hotels in Kigali, Karongi, and around Lake Kivu belt.