Angola Reaffirms Commitment to Capitalize on Investment Opportunities in Rwanda Inbox

Angola’s government has reaffirmed its commitment to deepen its
bilateral ties with Rwanda following last week’s BRICS Summit in
Johannesburg, South Africa.

Rwanda’s President, Paul Kagame met with President João Lourenço of
Angola on the sidelines of the tenth annual edition of the event, which
is an international relations conference attended by the heads of state
or heads of government of the five member states Brazil, Russia, India,
China and South Africa (BRICS).

The commitment comes just two months after the governments of Rwanda
and Angola signed a deal known as the ‘Bilateral Air Service Agreement’
under which Rwanda’s national flyer, RwandAir, and Angola’s national
airline Taag got seven flight frequencies a week on either side.

The agreement was signed between the State Minister in charge of
Transport, Jean de Dieu Uwihanganye, and Angola’s Minister of Transport,
Augusto da Silva Tomas in Kigali on May 23rd, 2018.

As Anglola seeks opportunities in Rwanda’s thriving trade and
aviation sectors, the BRICS nations have resolved to strengthen their
multilateral trading systems. The group has urged member countries of
the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to abide by rules, amid ongoing trade
disputes between major economies.

At the Summit, India, China, Brazil, Russia and South Africa also
re-affirmed the centrality of an agreement known as the ‘rules-based,
transparent, non-discriminatory, open and inclusive multilateral trading
system’.

“We recognize that the multilateral trading system is facing
unprecedented challenges,” the BRICS member states said in a joint
statement on July 26th, 2018.

“We underscore the importance of an open world economy, enabling all
countries and peoples to share the benefits of globalisation, which
should be inclusive and support sustainable development and prosperity
of all countries,” the group added.

Angola has been keen to invest in Rwanda for quite some time, given
theEast African country’s growing profile as a lucrative investment
destination.

In 2015, Rwanda was ranked Africa’s most efficient government in an analysis dubbed the Global Competitive Report.

Rwanda was also ranked Africa’s third most popular destination for
conferences in 2018 by the International Congress and Convention
Association (ICCA), a global meetings industry network.

Angola’s renewed interest comes even as Asian countries have been quick to capitalize on Rwanda’s rising potential.

In late July, Chinese President, Xi Jinping and India’s Prime
Minister, Narendra Modi travelled to Rwanda to boost multilateral ties
with the small land-locked nation. President Xi has since signed 15
bilateral agreements with Rwanda, offering concessional loans to the
country. Under the agreements, China will fund projects in road
construction, hospital renovation and development of the Bugesera
International Airport.

Angola’s Head of State, Lourenço has already met with Rwanda’s
Foreign Minister Louise Moushikiwabo to discuss strengthening
cooperation and the opening of Embassies in the two countries.

“We want to collaborate on key sectors, including industrialization,
infrastructure, as well as peace and security, which are at the heart of
the African Union’s Agenda 2063,” President Kagame told the BRICS
Summit.

“Working together, we will continue to be a principal source of economic dynamism, in the years to come,” he said.