President meets visiting German delegation

VILLAGE URUGWIRO - President Paul Kagame Monday met and held talks with a visiting German delegation which is in the country to assess how its development aid is used. The high-level delegation, comprising legislators and senior officials in the Ministry of Economic Cooperation, is led by Karin Kortmann, Parliamentary State Secretary in the Ministry. Their meeting with the President was solely to get acquainted with the German –Rwanda development cooperation. “Our fruitful discussions were mainly to highlight the reason of our stay - development cooperation with your government,” said Kortmann. Shortly after the meeting, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Rosemary Museminali, explained that the Germans wanted to know how their money was spent and also get a feel of the government’s resolve to develop the country. She explained that they held good discussions with the President and were impressed by how the country allocates German development aid. Kortmann explained that Germany last year contributed about 10 million Euros to Rwanda as part of budget support rather than project support. She said this was due to the confidence they had in the government’s development commitment, adding that Rwanda’s leadership was very dedicated to development. “In the policy of international cooperation we gave more in budget support and not in project support because your government is excellent,” she stressed. “We gave this money because you are able to look forward in a very serious way,” Kortmann emphasized, noting that after the 1994 Genocide, the country needed more assistance. “This is a humane form of solidarity and we stand by you. We are on your side and we are willing and able to help,” she said. Museminali observed that there is now much more understanding by Germany in as far as how Rwanda effectively uses the aid money. “They are visiting central ministries, districts, and many different German-supported projects through the budget,” she said. The minister explained that the meeting also went beyond the steps taken in development, and dwelt on problems caused by ‘what might be called high-handedness by some developed nations’ – such as the case of the Spanish and French judges’ indictments against Rwandan military officers. “They understood and are going to help to follow up and examine those issues,” she said. Ends

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President meets visiting German delegation