1. Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Choi Jongmoon visited Rwanda on November 10 following his visit to Uganda, and had a meeting with Foreign Minister of Rwanda Vincent Biruta, where they discussed ways for substantive cooperation, including development cooperation, economic cooperation, and people-to-people exchange, between the two countries and cooperation in the international arena.

2. Vice Minister Choi suggested an expansion of substantive cooperation between the two countries, including trade and investment, and requested the Rwandan Government’s keen attention and support for the Korean enterprises’ participation in the Rwandan government’s IT and infrastructure projects. 

   * Trade Volume between ROK and Rwanda(2020): 17.6 million USD

    - Key Exports to Rwanda: Pesticides, Medicine, Fish, Car

    - Key Imports from Rwanda: Coffee(75%)(Source: KITA)

   ** Korea’s Investment in Rwanda(as of Jun 2021): 100 million USD (accumulative) (Source: Exim Bank)

 ◦ Vice Minister Choi acknowledged Rwanda’s efforts to establish a vaccine manufacturing plant in the country, which would expand the vaccine supply capacity on the African continent. He expressed hope that the two countries will find ways to cooperate in this sector, as Korea is also striving to become a global vaccine manufacturing hub.

 ◦ Minister Biruta expressed Rwanda’s readiness to enhance cooperation with Korea in several sectors including public health, education, ICT, and science technology. He also looked forward to the Aviation  Agreement entering into force and the Double Tax Avoidance Agreement (DDTA) to be concluded soon.

3. Also, Vice Minister Choi requested Rwanda’s support for Korea’s candidacy for the post of the next Director-General of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the 2030 World Expo in Busan, and asked for Rwanda’s participation in the Seoul Peacekeeping Ministerial (12.7.-8.) and the 5th Korea-Africa Forum (12.9.-10.) to be held in Seoul.

 ◦ Minister Biruta said he would positively review Korea’s invitation.

4. Vice Minister Choi visited Kigali Genocide Memorial and paid tribute to the victims of the Genocide against the Tutsi.

  ※ ROK Government has provided Korean audio guide and equipments for the Memorial.

5. Rwanda is one of Korea’s main ODA partners and core cooperation partner in East Africa. This high-level visit to Rwanda has further consolidated the bilateral relations, ahead of the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 2023.