“African Singapore”: Ambassador of Rwanda about successes in economics after crisis
The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ruanda in Russia Jeanne d'Arc Mujawamariya has delivered an open lecture at SPbU. She told about the breakthroughs in Rwanda’s economics.
“I am always pleased to visit SPbU, one of the most welcoming and friendly universities in Russia. I know that you have a lot of international students across the globe”, — said Jeanne d'Arc Mujawamariya.
Her report focuses on economics development in Rwanda 23 years after the Rwandan genocide, a genocidal mass slaughter of Tutsi in Rwanda by members of the Hutu majority government. An estimated 500,000–1,000,000 Rwandans were killed during the 100-day period from April 7 to mid-July 1994. After the Civil War, the country had no modern infrastructure, there was starvation, and the economy was mostly founded on agriculture. Today, Rwanda is one of the leading countries in the East-African community.
Rwanda is a small, but incredibly vibrant and dynamic country. We follow the world’s best model of economic and social development incorporating our own traditions.
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ruanda in Russia Jeanne d'Arc Mujawamariya
In the African continent, the Rwandan model is unique: it aims at bringing the radical changes into economy, developing new technologies, and adopting new approach to business. The key to understanding “the Rwandan economic miracle” is poverty reduction and dormation of the middle class, gender equality (women account for 64 % members of the parliament), innovations, and foreign investments.
Rwanda is a country in the East Africa boarding with Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, and Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its population is about 12 mln people. Rwanda is known as a country of thousand hills because of the natural beauty of its landscape made up of many rolling hills”.
“If you want to open your own company in Rwanda, you need four hours. We are the 15th country in the world where you can buy property with no problems, and the 4th country where you can easily get a credit for business”, — said Jeanne d'Arc Mujawamariya. The government is planning to make Rwanda the “African Singapore”, a world’s business and banking centre where the international companies can open their headquarters and main offices.
The country takes the lead in law enforcement in the whole African continent. No less important is ecological safety.
We are one of the countries where there are no plastic bags. As soon as you find yourself in the Rwanda’s airport you will be asked to leave them at the airport.
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ruanda in Russia Jeanne d'Arc Mujawamariya
“Today the difference between our past and present is more than ever striking. If you visit our capital, you will be pleasantly surprised. Our “vibrant city on the hills” is a visiting card of Rwanda, it is incredibly clean, well-equipped with cutting-edge technologies, and can boast modern infrastructure. Kigali, according to the UN’s assessment, is on a par with New-York”, — she said.
Every citizen has a medical insurance, and Rwanda’s children are guaranteed to get free 12-year education. “Rwanda’s aim is to have well-educated population on the continent. 97% of children go to school. In the future, we are planning to have the same results in the main secondary education. Our safety in future starts with how we bring up and educate our children: our primary concern is to learn them how to live peacefully, and only then how to learn mathematics”, — said Jeanne d'Arc Mujawamariya.