The EU Commissioner for Development, Andris Piebalgs, is today expected to announce over Rwf452 billion funding to Rwanda. The money is in two categories, including €460 million (about Rwf425.2 billion) funding to for the period between 2014 and 2020, and €30 million (about Rwf27.7 billion) of new EU support for Rwanda. The €30 million funding will “focus specifically on malnutrition,” Kaisa Kruuse, an official in the political section of the EU office in Kigali, confirmed in a statement. The support, according to the statement released on Tuesday, will go towards the national strategy to eliminate malnutrition in Rwanda, targeting chronic malnutrition of young children. Kruuse said the contract for the €30 million of new EU support for Rwanda will be signed during the visit and the money will be made available shortly. Piebalgs was also to announce €620 million of new EU support to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo), the statement adds. It says the amounts represent a significant increase in funding compared to recent years. Overall, governments and regional organisations in the region, will receive close to €3 billion of EU support over the same period. Ahead of his visit, Piebalgs was quoted as saying there are welcome signs of improved stability and security in the Great Lakes region. “The Addis Ababa Peace and Security Framework gives us a shared set of principles and objectives to work towards. The secret now is to help our partners in the region to undertake necessary reforms,” Piebalgs said. For the next six years, the overall objective of EU funding in Rwanda is to reduce poverty, support the progress made towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and strengthen democratic governance as well as respect for human rights. Focal sectors of EU assistance agreed with donors and government will be sustainable energy, agriculture, food security and governance. Piebalgs is travelling with the Belgian Minister for International Cooperation, Jean-Pascal Labille who was in Rwanda mid last month.
