Taking advantage of the young demographic of its citizens, Rwanda and Zambia have announced further plans to strengthen their commercial and expertise ties.
Rwanda’s President, Paul Kagame, said the two countries had cultivated a robust partnership over the years with collaborative agreements that had withstood even recent global shocks affecting African countries negatively.
He made the remarks during a joint press briefing with Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema recently when the Zambian president was in the country on a two-day state visit.
Kagame said that both Rwanda and Zambia had young populations that were rich in energy and talent.
"We want to work with the rest of the continent and our partners to invest in these young people to ensure a more secure, sustainable, and innovative Africa."
For Hichilema, his visit to Rwanda was intended to further the relations between the two countries, hopefully leading to tangible benefits.
“That is only possible if we are able to cooperate in a number of areas like economy, investment, agriculture and more, given our pool of resources and talent capabilities when we work together," he said.
Last year, President Kagame visited Zambia and several Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) were signed, including agreements on mutual administrative assistance between Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA) and Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA), cooperation on immigration matters, health, and investment promotion between Zambia Development Agency (ZDA) and Rwanda Development Board (RDB).
The MoUs covered areas such as agriculture, fisheries and livestock development, trade, and investment cooperation.
Kagame emphasised the regional and global need for food: "Our focus is on delivering benefits to the citizens of both countries, our region, the continent, and the world. We are aware of the declining global food basket and the simultaneous growth in population. By investing together and collaborating in agriculture, we can contribute to ensuring an ample food supply for Zambia, Rwanda, and the entire continent.”
He further underscored the importance of accelerating technological advancements to improve trade and the movement of goods and services between the two countries.
