Prime Minister Édouard Ngirente held a courtesy meeting with the newly appointed World Bank Country Director for Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda, and Somalia, Fan Qimiao, to discuss Rwanda’s development journey and future priorities, on October 2. The meeting that marked Qimiao’s first official visit to the country since his appointment on September 2 focused on deepening partnership between the World Bank Group and Rwanda ALSO READ: World Bank approves $200mn for skills development in Rwanda “The Prime Minister and I discussed Rwanda's development priorities and the World Bank's support programme, particularly regarding the Second National Strategy for Transformation (NST2), a five-year plan aimed at creating decent, productive jobs, boosting exports, and improving education quality,” he said. “I reaffirmed our commitment to helping Rwanda pursue green, resilient, and inclusive development, focusing on supporting that benefit for all Rwandans,” he added. Qimiao outlined the World Bank's focus on supporting Rwanda's ongoing development efforts, particularly in areas such as sustainable infrastructure, education, healthcare, and social protection. ALSO READ: World Bank names new Country Director for Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda, Somalia The official indicated that this is crucial for fostering inclusive development, and we are committed to helping the country in all these areas and private sector will play a vital role in the implementation process. Yusuf Murangwa, the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, emphasised the strong collaboration between Rwanda and the World Bank, highlighting an example of a joint construction project launched during the Covid-19 pandemic. “Normally, it takes about 18 months to design a programme, but this particular project was designed in just nine months and implemented within the same timeframe. It was highly successful, and we are eager to implement more projects in a similarly short period,” he said. Murangwa also said that job creation efforts will prioritise the youth, with a focus on boosting agricultural productivity and strengthening education systems in Rwanda.
