ISSUE

4747June 2015

Monthly Roundup of Rwanda’s

Stories

On the first day of his two-day tour in the Western Province, Nyamasheke and Rusizi districts, President Paul Ka-game met and interacted with residents of Nyamasheke district on 29 June 2015. Addressing a huge throng of people gathered on the shores of Lake Kivu, the President acknowledged the coun-try’s progress towards sustainable development, and stressed that it was all made possible by the fact that Rwan-dans are no longer defined by ignorance and fear: “Rwandans no longer follow blindly those who tell them to harm their neighbours. They no longer believe that those people – thousands of kilometres away – know better what Rwandans need. They [Rwandans] have ceased to follow their leaders blindly. They always ask ‘why’ they should follow or believe in something.” He further stressed that the people of Rwanda have decided to unite and maintain security, two attributes on which the country’s progress is founded: “Our unity and security are the foundation of all that we do. But they are not enough. We must build on this foundation. You must add hard work needed to ensure a better life for every Rwandan. Our unity must remain our priority.”

President tells Nyamasheke & Rusizi residents:

“Our unity must remain our priority”

RWANDARWANDAFULFUL

The HagueThe Hague

In the evening, while meeting with opinion leaders from across the West-ern Province, President Kagame put an emphasis on good governance, which – he said – is what sets aside Rwanda from other countries. “We have a responsibility to serve all citizens equally in order to transform this country as fast as we can. Our citizens may not have equal abilities but they must be given equal access to opportunities available. No country can thrive when it accepts and perpetuates any kind of discrimination.” On the last day of his visit, the President met with residents of Rusizi Dis-trict and called them upon to utilize the abundant resources at their dispos-al to transform their lives and move the country forward. Pointing out that Rwanda’s main resource is its people; President Kagame said the Government maintains a non-discriminatory policy, where every Rwandan, regardless of their background and gender has access to all avail-able opportunities. “Our main resources are you the people. Any economic transformation will build on your involvement. 52% of Rwandans are women. They cannot be left behind. We want 100% of the population to have equal opportunities.”

EMBASSY OF THE REPUBLIC OF RWANDA

THE HAGUE

www.netherlands.embassy.gov.rw

Rwanda achieves health related MDGs targets

Rwanda has achieved and is on course to surpass health related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs 4 and 5) related to reducing child mortality and improving maternal health. According to the 5th Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) whose key findings were released last week, infant mortality has steadily decreased to 32 deaths per 1000 live births in 2014/15 down from 109 in 2000. On top of that, under-five mortality has also decreased to 50 deaths per 1000 live births in 2014/15 down from 196 in 2000. Commenting on the findings, the Minister of Health, Dr. Agnes Binagwaho said that Rwanda is committed to invest even more efforts in assuring that Rwandans at all levels live healthy lives. “We are happy with the results, this shows that the interventions espe-cially at community level and the efforts of health personnel at different levels are paying off. We remain ambitious to achieve even more. Every Rwandan should have a healthy life.” Minister Binagwaho further pointed out that the achievements are a result of multi-sector collaboration. The survey also reveals that 91% of deliveries are assisted and in health facilities. Almost all women receive antenatal care at least once during pregnancy. It also indicates that fertility among women reduced to 4.2 children per woman in 2015 compared to 6.1 in 2005, while 53% of women use contraceptives. The Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Claver Gatete, attributes the positive figures and success to heavy investments in the health sector: “These results are a demonstration of what can be achieved when everyone works together with a shared objective to deliver on the vision 2020, which is all about improving the lives of Rwan-dans.” MDGs are a set of eight interdependent goals aimed at reducing poverty and improving the quality of life, particularly of the rural poor, and represent a global partnership re-sulting from the Millennium Declaration at the UN’s Millennium summit of 2000.They are internationally considered as benchmarks of the progress a country is making towards sustainable development.

We were not created to be defined by poverty - President Kagame On Thursday 18 June 2015, President Paul Kagame began a two-day visit to the Western Province in Rutsiro district where he was welcomed by tens of thousands of residents from the district gathered at the local stadium. Speaking to residents on Rwanda’s future, the President emphasized the im-portance of citizens and public service to hold one another accountable. “When citizens work togeth-er to achieve results, it is their right to demand results from the leaders they elected.” President Kagame further called on Rwandans to reject the notion of an Africa destined to poverty, and stressed that citizens across the continent should work hard towards economic prosperity. “We were not created to be eternally dependent. We were not created to be defined by poverty, diseases, hopelessness or not knowing what tomorrow may bring. We are on a journey to restore dignity for every Rwandan. Every Rwandan should be able to speak for himself, be self-reliant and make his own choices.” The President pledged to the residents of Rutsiro to increase efforts to ensure access to electricity. At the end of the first day of his Western Province tour, President Kagame met with 1,500 opinion leaders from across the province. He called on them to be intolerant of corruption, and to play their role in transforming Rwanda starting by their region. "We should not tolerate leaders who use re-sources that do not belong to them for their own benefit. Knowing our ambitions and the few re-sources we have, we cannot afford to tolerate corruption. We cannot survive it." On the second day of his visit, the President met with thousands of residents of Karongi district where he spoke about the district’s potential to achieve greater economic growth. “There is still a long way to go but it is not because we lack the resources to do better. There is no challenge that we cannot solve through hard work. But it requires action from each of you. We need to safeguard and build on the resources we have, starting with our security.” President Kagame observed that security is not enough if issues like poverty, hunger and diseases still prevail. “Security without transformation is not sufficient and transformation without security is not sustainable.” With 80 per cent of Karongi residents under the age of 40, the President asserted that the young gen-eration in Karongi have the ability to transform the region. “You are the solutions to your own chal-lenges. Youth, you are the key to achieving economic growth in this region.”

The 2015-16 Budget to prioritize “Infrastructure Development for Social and Economic Transformation” The Government of Rwanda plans to spend Rwf 1,768.2 billion in fiscal year 2015/16, representing an increase of Rwf 5.8 billion compared to Rwf 1,762.3 billion in 2014/15 revised budget. The Government will finance 66 per cent of its budget through domestic resources amounting to Rwf 1,174.2 billion indicating an increase of Rwf 41.6 billion compared to the domestic revenues in the 2014/15 revised budget. Government projects will register an increase of Rwf 40 billion in domestic revenues composed of tax and non-tax revenues while domestic borrowing is expected to increase by Rwf 60 billion. External resources are estimated at Rwf 594.0 billion representing a reduction of Rwf 35.8 billion. Grants in 2015/16 budget are estimated at Rwf 358.3 billion indicating Rwf 58.8 billion reduc-tion while external loans will increase by Rwf 23 billion to Rwf 235.7 billion. Addressing lawmakers from both chambers of the Parliament, the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning Claver Gatete said that Fiscal consolidation through increase revenue mobilization and expenditure prioritization remains the key objectives of Government in the medium term. “Donor support grants are projected to reduce to 5.7 per cent of GDP in 2015/16. The 2015-16 budget puts special focus on infrastructure development and export promotion and hence the theme: “Infrastructure Development for Social and Economic Transformation”. The Government has based its expenditure projections on priority areas under EDPRS2 and the identified sector priorities. Furthermore, to strengthen the linkage between institutional plans and budgets and ensure their alignment to the priorities highlighted in EDPRS2, planning consultations were organized and successfully concluded in February 2015. This provided orientation to resources allocation.

Emerging priorities under EDPR2 are grouped under four the-matic areas of Economic transformation for rapid growth, Rural Development, Productivity and youth employment creation as well as Accountable Governance. These were allocated 50 per cent (Rwf 879.7 billion) of the total budget. Foundational Issues reflect long-term priorities where, in most cases, significant pro-gress has already been made during EDPRS1 but form the platform for Rwanda’s sustainable development. These were allocated 38% (Rwf 674.5 billion) of the budget. The support function focuses on the provision of economical, efficient and effective support services was allocated 12 per cent (Rwf 214.0 billion) of the budget.

Infrastructure will take the lion’s share of the 2015/16 budget with an estimated Rwf 298.1 billion. This will be spent on rehabilitation of hydro power plants, development of peat power plant, electricity access roll out programme, construction, development of industrial parks and access to clean water in Kigali and other districts with low water access rates among others. Agriculture has been allocated Rwf 120.6 billion which will be spent on key areas such as priority crop intensification, second phase of rural sector support project, hill side irrigation and water harvesting, livestock infrastructure programme, National Strategic food reserve and post-harvest, agribusiness project and rehabilitation of roads and feeder roads to provide access to mar-kets. Minister Gatete told lawmakers that the country’s macro-economic program and the budget have been formulated against several challenges both domestic and global. Under the domestic front, adverse weather conditions could negatively affect agricultural production with the potential risk to growth and food security. Lower economic growth could also reduce domestic reve-nue collection. On the external front, risks to global growth and implications for resource flows to the developing countries including Rwanda in the form of aid and investment still persist. Commodity prices uncertainties and the expected low performance of mining sector could worsen further the terms of trade for Rwanda and reduce the flow of foreign exchange.

Imbuto Foundation and Bloomberg Philanthropies launch ‘Library For All’ in Rwanda

Through a partnership between the Imbuto Foundation and Bloomberg Philanthropies to bring the country’s library services and reading culture into the digital era, Rwandans now have free access to 500 books with the ‘Library For All’ mobile application available on Android devices. This ap-proach takes advantage of the growing use of mobile phones to increase literacy. In addition, Rwandan authors have written many of the books avail-able. The launch of ‘Library For All’ in Rwanda took place Friday 26 June 2015 on Reading Day, an initiative of the Imbuto Foundation in partnership with the Ministries of Education, Youth and ICT, and Sports and Culture to engage, educate and empower young Rwandans. The introduction of the ‘Library For All’ mobile app builds on the success of the Ministry of Education’s efforts to improve literacy in Rwanda through technology. “If you do not read, you cannot expect to have knowledge. It is our responsibility to help the youth become knowledgeable,” said Minister Uwacu of Sports and Culture.

During an interactive session at the launch, the Minister of State in Charge of Primary and Secondary Education, Olivier Rwamukwaya,

reiterated that the Ministry of Education has plans to increase the reading culture across the country, and ‘Library For All’ is a boon to those whose access to books was difficult. The introduction of Library For All is part of Imbuto Foundation’s commit-ment to nurture young Rwandans and make it easy for them to access infor-mation and learn about the world around them. Bloomberg Philanthropies have helped to bring the platform to Rwanda through their generous sup-port. Verna Egglestone of Blooomberg Philanthropies said “Bloomberg Philanthropies listened to the agenda of Rwanda and Library For all was a natural connection” to the path Rwanda is taking with education. She added that “Library For All works closely with the Ministry of Education on the se-lection of books featured on the mobile app”. Many of the books available have been written by Rwandan authors, raising awareness of the country’s many writers.

First Lady inspires school girls in Parliament On 20 June First Lady Jeannette Kagame urged girls to get informed, inspired and involved so as to be good leaders and citizens. Mrs. Kagame said this while addressing 250 girls participating in a one-day youth forum organized by Imbuto Foundation at Parliament. She emphasized the desire to have well-informed Rwandan youth who can bring about positive change, in addition to being able to favourably compete on the international job market and in so doing, reach their limitless potential. The event was part of the now regular Youth Forum Series (YFS) that bring together segments of youth and fea-tures exceptional speakers on topics ranging from professionalism, entrepreneurship, communication, and eco-nomic self-reliance. In the latest forum themed: “Informed. Inspired. Involved,” the First Lady said, it was im-portant to inform the young girls how the Parliament operates at an early age. “We think this program will enhance the manner in which they express their views, as well as sharpen their critical thinking,” the First Lady said. “You are not too young to learn how the Rwandan parliament functions,” she told them. “This is the beginning because it is the first time we are conducting such a forum but we are planning that this program can be extended to other youths”. Shortly afterwards, the girls – mostly 14 to 18-year olds – put into practice what they learned. They elected their own parliamentary Speaker and her deputies, divided themselves into the usual parliamentary committees and went ahead to scrutinize pieces of legislation, as is done in a real parliamentary setting. Fawe Girls School’s Diana Nshuti, 18, is already thinking way beyond her dream to become a doctor. “I appreciate many things about this event. The theme today, ‘Informed. Inspired. Involved,’ is what inspired me most. I have got to be the best of what I can be or achieve. I am now studying physics, chemistry and biology, meaning I am aspiring to be a doctor in future,” Nshuti told. “But I also have other goals too. I have this ambition to one day set up a company that takes care of street kids. A company that has people with specialized skills to mentor street kids by using better methods.” The Youth Forum Series (YFS) also create opportu-nities to unleash young talent in different ways. Over 20 forums have been held since 2007 with a number of themes including: ‘Ingredients of Suc-cess’ for university students, and ‘15 Years and the re-birth of a future generation’ for young genocide survivors. Also in attendance were the Speaker of Parlia-ment, Mukabalisa Donatille and the Minister of Sports and Culture, Uwacu Julienne who closed the one day forum. (Copyright Rwanda New Times)

Rwanda marks World Environment Day as LAFREC Project launches On Friday 5 June 2015, Rwanda joined the world in celebrating World Environment Day (WED). Themed “Seven Billion Dreams. One Planet. Con-sume with Care”, this day is in line with Rwanda’s commitment to harmonize economic growth with environmental sustainability and sustainable management of natural resources. The national celebrations were held in Rutsiro district, Western Province with the launching of the Landscape Approach to Forest Restoration and Conservation (LAFREC); a project which aims to rehabilitate Gishwati and Mukura Forest Reserves. In Rutsiro, participants to the WED celebrations joined Mukura sector residents in a community work “Umuganda” to rehabilitate degraded mining sites in Mukura Forest. This followed by discus-sions with the local community on efficient use of natural resources in line with this year’s WED theme as well as LAFREC interventions. Speaking at the event, the Director General of Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA) Dr. Rose Mukankomeje called upon Rwandans to live environment-friendly lifestyles: “As we celebrate World Environment Day, let’s promote resource efficiency and sustainable production and consumption by doing more and better with the few resources available, reduce our footprint and adopt a more sustainable lifestyle.” A Global Environment Facility (GEF) – funded project, LAFREC aims to restore the highly degraded Gishwati-Mukura landscape, boosting land man-agement of the Gishwati and Mukura forests and improving local livelihoods, environment and climate resilience within the area. This will be achieved by increasing tree cover, restoring indigenous woodland in deforested areas and enhancing the biodiversity of the remaining degraded forest reserves so as to provide national and global environmental benefits. The US$ 9.53 Million project has two main components: forestry-friendly rehabilitation of Mukura landscape and upgrading Gishwati-Mukura for-est reserves to a national park; and improvement of livelihoods for surrounding communities to be climate resilient. Dr. Mukankomeje encouraged the communities in Mukura surroundings to fully support the implementation of this project and its prime beneficiaries. Initially, Gishwati-Mukura reserve was estimated to cover 250,000 hectares before it reduced to 28,000 hectares in 1980s due mainly to human activities. Over the past decades, the Gishwati-Mukura area was nearly depleted largely due to resettlement, livestock farming and small farming in the aftermath of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. This led to devastating erosion within the forests, resulting in severe landslides and floods. However some patches of native forest remain, alongside important biodiversity, including a small population of chimpanzees. Gishwati-Mukura Forest Reserve is known for a wide range of flora and fauna, including four species of primates: the eastern chimpanzee, the golden monkey, the

blue monkey, and the moun-tain monkey; more than a dozen species of East African chimpanzees; mammals such as red river hog, the black-fronted duiker, the southern tree hyrax, among others. The forest reserve also boasts about 60 species of trees, including indigenous hard-woods and bamboo.

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24 Baby Gorillas to be named in this year’s “Kwita Izina” The Rwanda Development Board (RDB) has announced that this year’s edition of the annual Moun-tain Gorilla-Naming ceremony also known as ‘Kwita Izina’ will be held on 5th September 2015 in Kinigi, at the foothills of the Volcanoes in Northern Rwanda. Themed “Conserving Now and For the Future”, the 11th Gorilla-Naming ceremony, will focus on the benefits of ‘Kwita Izina’ as a conserva-tion initiative. Addressing a Press Conference, RDB’s Chief Tourism Officer, Ambassador Yamina Karitanyi revealed that this year, 24 baby gorillas will be named. “Through Kwita Izina, [Rwanda] will not only celebrate the birth of 24 baby gorillas, but also acknowledge the impact that local communities have had in sustaining conservation efforts. Togeth-er, we have worked with rangers, guides, conservation groups and local communities towards taking proactive steps to restore and extend the habitat of not only gorillas but also other wildlife as well.” Ambassador Karitanyi further said that as part of a joint tourism promotion initiative across the Northern Corridor (Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya and South Sudan) , Tourism bodies in the region have

decided to give each member state an occa-sion to celebrate a flag-ship tourism event. Kwita Izina was picked as Rwanda’s flagship tour-ism event. In line with this, other initiatives are being undertaken to pro-

mote tourism in the region – jointly with the private sector. These include a current domestic and regional tourism campaign, events and joint marketing efforts under the Northern Corridor initiative. The Chairman of the East African Business Council, Dennis Karera said that the Government of Rwan-da has created a secure and enabling environment for tourism-related businesses to thrive. “With the East Africa Single Tourism Visa, there is easy movement of tourists. It is up to us as the private sector to take advantage of these opportunities.” He further stressed that Kwita Izina is a great op-portunity for the business community to interact with regional and international operators. The 11th Kwita Izina will be marked by various activities that will culminate in the Gorilla-Naming ceremony. The event will be preceded by a ‘Kwita Izina’ week that will commence with ‘Inka z’u Rwanda’, a cultural ceremony meant to celebrate cows and their place in the Rwandan tradition, mainly focusing on the impact that they have in social welfare. Other activities to be held in the Kwita Izina week include a Conservation Forum, a photo exhibition, a business exhibition, a Familiari-sation Trip and Regional Tourism Business to Business Forum, as well as a night of cultural immersion – ‘Igitaramo’ – on the eve of the event.

The 10th National Agrishow in Kigali On Saturday 6 June 2015, the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources (MINAGRI) has officially launched the 10th National Agricultural Exhibition. Themed “Agriculture Financing for Sector Prosperity”, the weeklong event brings together more than 200 ex-hibitors from over ten countries. The exhibition features a wide range of innovations in the agriculture sector such as irrigation and mechanisation, information and communica-tions technologies in agriculture, agro-processing and modern livestock among others. Held at Mulindi Agri-Show Grounds, Gasabo district, the exhibition has attracted individu-al farmers’ organisations, financial service providers, insurances, agricultural products and equipment companies, international exhibitors and other local and international agricultural agencies. Speaking at the launch of the exhibition, the Minister of State for Agriculture Tony Nsanganira pointed out that Rwanda relies much on the agriculture sector not only to guarantee food security, but also to increase exports and – for grass-roots communities to generate more income in a bid to reduce poverty and ensure sus-tainable development. The agriculture sector currently contributes over 35 per cent to the country’s economy. “It’s very critical to keep improving the quantity, quality and value addition of our agricul-tural production,” noted State Minister Nsanganira. He emphasized that there is a need to enhance access to finance and called on financial institutions to provide farmers with loans, and the later to adopt a saving culture. Of the total loans provided by financial institutions, only eight per cent currently goes to agricultural projects; with target to in-crease the percentage to 18 per cent within the next three years. State Minister Nsanganira said that in 2000, there were only three agricultural projects worth Rwf 300 million. “Currently the private sector investment has exceeded more than 200 agricultural projects worth Rwf 400 billion. The government will keep taking the lead in facilitating the private investments into the sector. The government has developed more than 40,000 hectares with irrigation facilities in a bid to facilitate private investors.” The different agricultural products exhibited bear testimony to the big efforts invested in transforming the sector. A bunch of bananas can today weigh over 170 kg while a cassava tree can produce more than 200 kg simply due to improved farming practices.

Minister Mushikiwabo visit the Netherlands to deepen the strong relations Minister Louise Mushikiwabo of the Rwandan Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation was in the Netherlands on 29 and 30 June, on an official visit aimed at deepening the bilateral cooperation in interna-tional cooperation with the Kingdom of the Netherlands. On the first day of her visit Minister Mushikiwabo and Ambassador of the Republic of Rwanda to the Netherlands Jean Pierre Karabaranga met with honorable guests from governmental institutions and uni-versities in the Netherlands. Several topics were discussed like the collaborations between Rwanda, the Netherlands, the European Union and the African Union. Today the Minister started with an extensive meeting at the Dutch Parliament in The Hague with a group of MPs of the standing committee of foreign affairs, that is going to visit Rwanda from 17 to 20 August 2015. The members of this delegation (Mr Joost Taverne, Ms Agnes Mulder, Ms Sharon Gesthuizen, Mr Jan Vos and Mr Roelof van Laar) had the opportunity to ask the Minister several questions, e.g. about the situation in Burundi and how it affects the region and furthermore about the opportunities for small en-trepreneurs. The Netherlands has 2 ministries that are related to international affairs, one is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, headed by Minister Bert Koenders. The other is the Ministry of Foreign Trade & Development Co-operation, headed by Minister Lilianne Ploumen. For years now, the Netherlands and Rwanda have a strong and stable relation, which was emphasized by Minister Koenders and Minister Mushikiwabo during their extensive meeting in The Hague. Minister Ploumen was in Rwanda in November 2014 when she headed a trade mission from the Nether-lands and she also met then with Minister Mushikiwabo. Both Ministers are convinced of their strategy to go ‘from aid to trade’ and they have proofed that this strategy is successful for both countries. As the Rwanda specialty coffee has become trending in the Netherlands, a short visit was made to Koffiebranderij Boon in The Hague, which is a specialty coffee roaster that roasts Rwanda coffee beans from Rushashi. Owner Lianne Bertens explained to the Minister why she is a big fan of Rwandan coffee and she said that of all countries her favorite coffee is from Rwanda.

Minister Mukeshimana signed Memorandum of Understanding with the Netherlands

Minister Gerardine Mukeshimana of the Ministry of Agriculture & Animal Resources and Minis-ter Sharon Dijksma of the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands signed this morning a Memorandum of Understanding on bilateral cooperation in plant variety protection and breeders' rights at the No More Food To Waste conference in The Hague. The Rwanda government wants to provide and promote an effective system of plant variety protection, with the aim of encouraging the development of new varieties of plants, for the benefit of further development and economic growth of the Rwanda agricultural sector, specifi-cally the potato sector and the seed sector. The Netherlands has a strong interest in sharing knowledge through private companies and science institutes for the benefit of the agricultural sector. Both governments acknowledge the importance of an effective system in order to improve the agricultural sector of Rwanda as well as to further develop the investment opportunities for foreign companies. Agriculture Mission Minister Mukeshimana is in the Netherlands from 16 to 19 June to intensify the economic rela-tions between Rwanda and the Netherlands on developing the agriculture sector through ex-tending business to business contacts and to discuss the Dutch institutional framework on agri-cultural policies, research and good agricultural practices. The Minister started with No More Food To Waste Conference and participated in a panel dis-cussion deliberation on food loss, waste and opportunities for action. Furthermore, she attend-ed a Horticulture Platform meeting with the Rwanda trade delegation where an update was given on the SMART Project in Rwanda. This is a smart greenhouse technology specially devel-oped for Rwanda by a consortium of Dutch and Rwandan private sector companies and research institutes, which will result in increased quality and production of vegetables and a stronger market position. The Minister continued her mission together with Ambassador George William Kayonga (CEO of the National Agricultural Export Development Board), Mr Robert Kayinamura (First Counsellor at the Embassy of the Republic of Rwanda in the Netherlands) and Mrs Teddie Muffels (Agricultural Counsellor at the Dutch Embassy in Rwanda). The delegation visited Bosman Van Zaal that is one of the private companies in the SMART Pro-ject and specialized in the production of conditioned facilities for vegetable and floriculture production worldwide. Furthermore, the delegation visited Olij Roses (a specialist in growing and propagation of roses) and a dairy farm of the Vollering Brothers, which is a good example of modern farming with four strategy points; animal welfare, cows in the pasture, labour efficiency and energy neutral.

Minister of Justice of Rwanda, Mr Johnston Busingye visit to the Netherlands The Minister for Justice Johnston Busingye, was in the Netherlands from 17-22 June, on an official visit aimed at deepening the bilateral cooperation in justice and rule of law. During the visit, the minister chaired the panel on Justice and rule of law, which brought together relevant policy stakeholders from Rwanda and the Nether-lands. Minister Busingye and State Secretary of Security and Justice, Minister for Migration Mr Klaas Dijkhoff and Rwandan and Dutch experts discussed the bilateral justice cooperation. The visit included field visits to among others the Netherlands Forensic Institute, the Netherlands Institute for War Documentation (NIOD) and several of the international justice institutions in The Hague. Busingye also had an interactive meeting with Rwandan Diaspora leaving in the Netherlands, during which they discussed key elements on policies that would help increase their contribution to their country. The Minister called on the Rwandan Diaspora members to reflect on the progress made by the country, bearing in mind where Rwanda has come from, and challenged them to become active partners in development. He stressed that it is important for the Rwandans in the diaspora to play a role toward ensuring improved match-up between employability and training that is offered in Rwanda. He said that Rwandans of all walks of life must work collectively to see how they could contribute to Rwanda, economically, politically and in many other ways.