Madagascar, Rwanda seek to expand ties on sports infrastructure development

Madagascan Minister of Youth and Sports Abdullah Marson Moustapha has said that his country is committed to drawing lessons from Rwanda’s expertise in sports infrastructure development. Moustapha, who is in Kigali attending the Youth Connekt Africa, paid a courtesy visit to Rwandan Minister of Sports Richard Nyirishema on Thursday on Thursday, November 7, where they held discussions on potential areas of collaboration in sports development. After the discussions, Moustapha was taken to a tour at BK Arena and Amahoro Stadium. The Madagascan Minister said he was pleased with Rwanda's development in sports infrastructure and he wants his country to follow suit. ALSO READ: No dream is too big for Rwanda Amahoro-Stadium is proof There are lots of cooperation we can explore and do together. One of them is how to handle and how to manage sporting infrastructure. This is one of the main points I have asked the minister of sports of Rwanda to share with us, Moustapha said. The way of thinking in the sport business is different because it is not only the government which has to invest but the most important thing is how to keep the infrastructure with auto-financing. He also mentioned that the planned cooperation with Rwanda won't only be in the area of football but it will be extended to all sports departments. We talked about cooperation in sports not only football or basketball but all sports disciplines. We will work with our technical department of sports and know where to start. Moustapha also commended president Paul Kagame for making Rwanda a great sports hub on the African continent. My visit is so successful and I am very proud of Rwanda under the leadership of President Paul Kagame. It is so amazing to see how Rwanda has developed. Such sporting infrastructure is good for Africa because it can host international events, he said. After discussions with his counterpart Moustapha, Nyirishema reaffirmed Rwanda’s commitment to building cooperation with Madagascar. “In fact, he [Minister Moustapha] had the agenda of Youth Connect but he requested to meet us and about the agenda of sports in both countries and how we can have partnership in the future, Nyirishema said.