VILLAGE URUGWIRO - President Paul Kagame Thursday received at Village Urugwiro, Sir Tom Hunter, a Scottish philanthropist working to improve the quality of Rwandan coffee.

Speaking to the press shortly after their meeting, Hunter said that he had come to brief the President on the progress registered in the branding of Rwanda’s coffee in the United Kingdom.

"We managed to help Rwandan farmers launch a brand of premium coffee in the UK and we have so far helped them launch the brand in 1,000 stores across the United Kingdom,” Hunter said after the meeting.

The brand that was given to the coffee is called ‘Rwandan Farmers’, and it has helped to increase the gains of the farmers from their product.

"Our aim is to take the brand beyond fair trade…we want farmers to get fair prices out of their coffee,” he said.

The efforts by Hunter to uplift the quality of coffee grown in Rwanda came as a result of a joint partnership between his and  former US President Bill Clinton’s Foundation. They have since formed the Clinton Hunter Development Initiative (CHDI).

Other ventures that are to be facilitated by the initiative include an Oil plant which is expected to produce oil from Soya beans; this will be constructed in Kayonza District in the Eastern Province.

Meanwhile, the President on the same day bade farewell to outgoing US Ambassador Michael Arietti who said that he was happy with the improved bilateral relations between the two countries during his tenure in Kigali.

Arietti has been in Rwanda for three years and it was during his time in Rwanda that US president George Bush visited the country earlier this year.

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