The Senate has approved Amb. Valentine Rugwabiza’s appointment as chief executive officer of Rwanda Development Board and a member of the Cabinet. Amb. Rugwabiza, a former deputy director-general of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), is scheduled to take oath of office today in a ceremony to be presided over by President Kagame at Parliament Building. 

Lawmakers said Amb. Rugwabiza has the necessary technical skills to drive Rwanda Development Board (RDB) to the next level.

Senator Appolinaire Mushinzimana, the chairperson of the Standing Committee on Political Affairs and Good Governance, told the House plenary before the unanimous approval that the former diplomat’s experience is  evidence of know-how in fostering investment and economic development, an essential attribute the country seeks in a leader of RDB. Before joining WTO, where she was in charge of development issues, including trade policy review, trade facilitation, training and technical cooperation, she was Rwanda’s envoy to the United Nations. Amb. Rugwabiza has also served in different senior managerial positions in the private sector, in Rwanda and abroad. In May, Jeune Afrique magazine named Amb. Rugwabiza and Clare Akamanzi, who has been acting RDB chief executive, among the 25 most influential women in business on the African continent.