EU Ambassador Belen Calvo Uyarra (first from left supervising signature of an agreement of ten million of euros for guarantee in businesses of women and youth in Rwanda
This Business Forum organised in Kigali during two days represents a new milestone in the EU and Rwanda long-standing strong partnership. Rwanda and the EU work together in addressing today’s global challenges such as climate change, protecting the environment or the response to the pandemic, according to the EU Ambassador in Rwanda, Belen Calvo Uyarra.
Read below her Speech during opening ceremony:
It is a great honour and pleasure for me to welcome all of you today to the first EU-Rwanda Business forum.
For the first time, the EU and its Member States have brought companies from the EU and Rwanda together, to explore investment and trade opportunities, to promote partnerships, and to invest in jobs and growth in Rwanda.
We are in this journey together with the Government of Rwanda and I would like to thank the Rwandan Development Board, Clare Akamanzi, for the fruitful cooperation and true partnership in the preparation for this Business Forum. And a tip to the European Businesses here present: RDB is your entry point for investing in Rwanda, and we hope you will soon experience the same fruitful cooperation we maintain with them.
This Business Forum represents a new milestone in the EU and Rwanda long-standing strong partnership. Rwanda and the EU work together in addressing today’s global challenges such as climate change, protecting the environment or the response to the pandemic. We work together in the continent to advance peace and security, to promote regional integration and the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (CFTA). At a bilateral level, the EU, its Member states and European Financing institutions – support, as Team Europe, Rwanda’s Vision 2050, its Transformation agenda and aspirations to become a Middle Income Country by 2035.
Delegates during the opening of the business forum
Team Europe, in close partnership with the EU’s private sector, is supporting Rwanda to prepare for the domestic manufacturing of vaccines, to both protect health and develop a new value-added growth sector. We are actively engaged in education, skills and decent jobs for the youth in the digital age. We support climate-resilient agriculture connected to regional and EU markets, sustainable urbanisation, promote economic governance and seek to increase trade and investment.
With this first EU-Rwanda Business Forum, we aspire to significantly involve the private sector in the economic transformation of the country, in Rwanda’s economic and social development, in full line with the Government’s vision and agenda. This is also the spirit of the European Global Gateway strategy – to come in together with the European Member States, European Financing Institutions, and private sector, to build trusted inter-connections and partnerships in response to old and new global challenges and to bridge investment gaps. (As I look around the room today, I am so pleased to see the living, tangible and potential realization of the partnerships I just described).
Rwanda showed incredible resilience during COVID and has demonstrated an impressive recovery. Having been the sixth fastest-growing economy in the continent before COVID, Rwanda bounced back to top tier performance by posting 8,2% GDP growth in 2022. With an excellent business environment, strong levels of governance, world-class business facilitation ecosystem, Rwanda has profiled itself as an ideal destination for trade and investment; and a regional hub and springboard to other EAC and African markets.
The European Union is the biggest source of Foreign Direct Investment to Rwanda, with investments worth US$ 210 million registered in 2022 and the second biggest trading partner. We believe we can and we should do more together to attract European investment in Rwanda and increase trade. And this has been the Government’s request to us. Let’s now start to make it happen.
150 European companies, over 200 Rwandan companies, over 500 participants, 100 panelists. The EU Rwanda Business Forum is a unique place – plaza – for quality dialogue between the public and the private sector from the EU and Rwanda. It features plenary sessions on Rwanda’s business environment and investment opportunities, about the ample possibilities to use Rwanda as a testing ground and springboard to the wider region.
It proposes specific conversations on Agribusiness, Mining, Health & Pharmaceuticals, Financial and Digital Services, and Green and Sustainable economy. These four sectors have an outstanding growth potential and ((the additional credibility of being)) are at the heart of the EU and its Member States support in Rwanda through Team Europe Initiatives. The forum will also offer the opportunity for the European Financial Institutions to connect and dialogue with Rwandan commercial banks and explore opportunities to mobilise investment.
It is my sincere hope that we are today planting the seed for thriving investments.
I leave you with a call to all of you to take advantage of the opportunities available today. I urge you to connect through the match-making app, if you have not done so already, so you may easily set up business to business meetings. I equally encourage you to reach out to the stand of EBCR- the European Business Chamber -, where they will provide orientation and connections. (Fin)