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afrol News, 2 October - The first Belgian business delegation in fifteen years has recently visited Rwanda, a Belgian ex-colony. Rwanda is experiencing peace, stability and economic growth for the first time since independence and is turning into an interesting investment location. According to the Rwandan government, a high-level delegation of more than 30 businessmen and -women from the three federal regions of Belgium made a five-day exploratory visit to Rwanda last week to access business opportunities in the country. The visit was the first of its kind for fifteen years. During their visit, the delegation held talks with the Rwandan Private Sector Federation and met with government officials, including the President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame and the Minister of Commerce and Industry, Alexandre Lyambabaje. They also held "extensive discussions" with the Rwanda Investment Promotion Agency (RIPA) and the Privatisation Secretariat, the government reports. The business delegation, which represented 30 Belgian companies, had "expressed optimism about the prospects for increasing trade and investment with Rwanda, particularly in the fields of construction, transportation, printing, electronics, pharmaceuticals and information technology." Mr. Ivan Petroff, a Trade Commissioner for the Brussels and Wallon federal regions based in Nairobi said that his delegation was very well received and that the level of cooperation with the Rwanda government and private sector wais very good. He said that the visit was "a great success and good opportunities for trade and investment had been created." Rwanda remains one of Africa's and the world's poorest and least developed countries after the 1994 genocide crippled the ground structures of society. Progress has however been rapid during the last years.
Sources: Based on Rwandan govt and afrol archives
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