Rwanda pledges more support to Haiti

KIGALI - The Minister of Local Government, James Musoni, yesterday, met the Haitian Minister of Youth, Sports and Civic action, Evans Lescouflair, and discussed bilateral cooperation Lescouflair has been in the country since Tuesday to identify the reconstruction lessons Haiti can learn from Rwanda. The Central American country is still struggling to recover from the effects of a devastating earthquake, early this year. The two ministers mainly discussed capacity building in the areas of planning, decentralisation, education and coordinating aid. On January 12, a massive earthquake left 200,000 dead and over 2 million homeless. Speaking to the press after the meeting, the Haitian Minister said that the government of Rwanda offered five scholarships for Haitian students to pursue their studies at the National University of Rwanda beginning in January 2011. Lescouflair, on Wednesday, visited the Southern Province-based University to prepare for the arrival of the studentsHe thanked Rwanda for her support towards the Haitian recovery. According to Musoni, Rwanda also supports Haiti in several areas, including, sending police officers and prison wardens. “President Paul Kagame recently appointed a team of people from the ministries of Local Government and Foreign Affairs who will be following up on how we can support Haiti towards reconstruction,” he said. “We shall send our experts to Haiti to offer capacity building support,” Musoni stressed. Ends