ISTANA - Singapore, May 21: President Kagame today met with Prime Minister Lee Tsieng Loong of Singapore following an official welcome ceremony held at the Istana that marked the beginning of a three-day official visit. Discussed were economic development in Rwanda, progress on regional integration and bilateral issues including on going cooperation with Singapore on strengthening Rwanda ’s public service. Also noted was the need to strengthen ties between East Asia and Africa, in particular, partnering with Singapore to find ways to adapt the country’s experiences to establish relevant models for economic growth for respective developing countries.

President Kagame also met with the President of Singapore, S R Nathan, who commended the progress underway in Rwanda. Kagame briefed President Nathan on areas of priority for Rwanda’s development and expressed his appreciation for the support rendered by Singapore in these efforts.

The President visited the Institute for Technical Education, Singapore ’s award-winning vocational training institute that is responsible for providing industry relevant training for a quarter of the country’s workforce.

He also visited the Singapore Cooperation Enterprise (SCE) where he witnessed the signing of an agreement between SCE and HIDA that formalises cooperation between Rwanda and Singapore and provides a platform for future collaboration in many sectors.

On Wednesday evening President Kagame attended an official dinner hosted by Prime Minister Lee. In his remarks at the dinner, Kagame remarked on Singapore’s rapid socioeconomic transformation that provided an inspiration for Rwanda, which similar to Singapore, is a small country without significant natural resources and whose potential was the people, and skills acquisition for powering economic growth and development.

The President Kagame is scheduled to meet with Singaporean business leaders Friday and deliver a lecture at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.

Ends