Korean vice foreign minister visits, looks to better ties

The Republic of Korea has expressed interest to continue working closely with Rwanda in different areas of mutual interest. This emerged during a three-day visit to Rwanda by the Korean Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs, Jongmoon Choi, which ended on Thursday, November 11. The visiting delegation was on Wednesday, November 10, received by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International cooperation, Vincent Biruta where they discussed matters of development and economic cooperation. Some of the outlined sectors of cooperation between both countries include public health, education, ICT and science technology. Meanwhile, Choi commended Rwanda’s efforts to establish a vaccine manufacturing plant which will expand vaccine supply capacity on the continent. He also added that his country looks forward to collaborating with the country in this sector, especially since Korea aims to become a global vaccine manufacturing hub. Rwanda in partnership with BioNTech, is set to construct a manufacturing plant for mRNA-based vaccines in mid-2022. Choi visited Kigali Genocide Memorial and paid tribute to the victims of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. Last year, the government of Rwanda and the Republic of Korea have signed a Bilateral AirService Agreement (BASA), a move that will see the two countries ease air travel. Since 2011, Rwanda has been a priority partner in development cooperation for the Korean government through the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA). The agency implements a dozen of projects in the country focusing on ICT, education and rural development. In addition, Korea EXIM Bank through its Economic Development Cooperation Fund, partnered with Rwanda in developing the infrastructure of the University of Rwanda. Last year, the fund also gave a $66.2 million loan to Rwanda in bid to boost the countrys universal access to electricity by 2024. The two countries have a long-lasting relationship as they will be marking the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations in 2023.

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Korean vice foreign minister visits, looks to better ties