James Wharton MP, UK Minister for the Department for International Development (DFID), will be in Rwanda this week on his third visit to Africa in a little over a month. Mr Wharton, who oversees development aid in Africa, will hold meetings with representatives from the government of Rwanda to discuss areas of mutual interest for the UK and Rwanda, including poverty reduction, education, trade and investment, and civil society space.
As well as meeting leaders, Mr Wharton will also see a number of existing UK aid funded projects which are promoting poverty reduction, economic growth and stability.
Ahead of his visit Mr Wharton said: “I am looking forward to seeing first-hand the remarkable progress that Rwanda has made over the last twenty years.
“I am proud that the UK has been able to support Rwanda on this journey – contributing to its achievement of lifting over 1.5 million people out of poverty in recent years – and it is great to see the strong partnership that we’ve built.
“As an outward-looking, globally engaged nation, the UK is committed to maintaining the broad range of support that it provides to Rwanda, helping to tackle poverty, boost economic development, drive investment and create jobs – which will increase global prosperity.
“Investing in peace, development and security in Rwanda is essential for stability in the Great Lakes and in both Rwanda’s and the UK’s long term interests.”
Minister Wharton will visit Muzanze where he will meet the Mayor and see first-hand how UK aid is supporting the flagship Vision Umurenge Programme which provides temporary employment in public works to some of the very poorest people in Rwanda.
This has already helped boost the incomes of 390,000 of the poorest Rwandans. He will also see how UK aid and private investment is supporting economic development through the commercialization of agriculture.
In Kigali Mr Wharton will see how UK aid is working with the government and Trade Mark East Africa to develop digital technologies that reduce the cost of trade and increase domestic tax revenues.
Mr Wharton will also pay his respects at the Kigali Genocide Memorial. This is the first official visit to Rwanda by a UK government minister since the new UK Prime Minister Theresa May took office in July.
In the last five years UK support has helped:
improve land and property rights for 3.7 million people;
enable 354,000 children to access primary education; provide 355,000 people with access to financial services.
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