Political relations between the European Union and Rwanda have been developing steadily since the independence of Rwanda in 1962, establishment of the presence of the European Union in Rwanda in the mid-1980s and formalisation of the relations in 1991 with the signature of an "accord de siege" with the Rwandan Government.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Rwanda

The EU’s joint foreign and security policy, manifested in the EU's Global Strategy is designed preserve peace, strengthen international security, promote international cooperation as well as to develop and consolidate democracy, rule of law and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. The strategy ensures the credibility, responsiveness and coherence of the Union, in particular, by joining up EU and Member States' external policies, in areas such as trade, development cooperation, humanitarian aid, or migration. 

The EU and Rwanda [DGG(1] share interests and policy priorities in keeping peace and security in the continent, in particular, the African Great Lakes region, but also more broadly on the continent. In 2023, the EU and Rwanda held their first security and defence consultation. They jointly cooperate in a number of missions (e.g. in Mozambique or Central Africa) and initiatives (Emergency Transfer mechanism for refugees evacuated from Libyan camps). The EU and Rwanda also cooperate successfully at multilateral level on global challenges, such as climate diplomacy, international migration or the international trading rules. Through regular political dialogue, the parties discuss and assess possibilities of cooperation and coordination of approaches on these matters. 

Political relations between the EU and Rwanda are part of a broader EU – Africa partnership anchored in the Joint Africa-EU Strategy adopted by Heads of State and Government at the second EU-Africa Summit in 2007. During the 6th AU-EU Summit on 17-18 February 2022 in Brussels, EU and African leaders agreed on a joint vision for a renewed partnership. The aims of the partnership are solidarity, security, peace and sustainable and sustained economic development and prosperity for the citizens of the two Unions today and in the future, bringing together people, regions and organisations [external link]. The leaders announced an Africa-Europe Investment Package of EUR 150 billion that will support a common ambition for 2030 and AU Agenda 2063. The investment package will help build more diversified, inclusive, sustainable and resilient economies.

While initially the focus has been primarily on development cooperation, the signature of the ACP - EU Partnership Cotonou Agreement in 2000, created space for broadening of bilateral relations also to political, economic and trade areas through the establishment of a platform for regular political dialogue as well as other types of formal and informal consultations. The Post Cotonou negotiations on a new EU/Africa-Caribbean-Pacific Partnership Agreement concluded on 15 April 2021. Relations between the EU and Rwanda will in future be framed by the new EU-OACPS Partnership Agreement. 

The EU's main objectives in its partnership with Rwanda are:

• Supporting Rwanda's implementation of its national development strategy Vision 2050 and progress towards the sustainable development goals;
• Strengthening rule of law, accountability, and human rights, the development of civil society and supporting the reconciliation process in Rwanda;
• Improving economic governance and business climate to help developing trade and investment opportunities;
• Working with Rwanda to address global and continental challenges, such as peace and security, migration or climate change, including through cooperation in multilateral fora.

EU DELEGATION RWANDA

The EU development cooperation with Rwanda is framed in the 2021 - 2027 Multiannual Indicative Programme (MIP) for Rwanda, which outlines main priority areas for development cooperation in the country for seven years, while financial allocations for the initial period 2021-2024 period are set at EUR 260 million.  The three main areas identified jointly with the Government of Rwanda are:

• Education, Skills and Jobs for the Youth, which aims to enhance levels of human capital to ensure a well-educated and highly skilled workforce that can contribute to the government’s vision of diversifying the economy towards high productivity knowledge-based sectors, focusing particularly on health and hospitality.
• A Green Deal for Inclusive Development, which is to support in parallel rural development and transformation of agriculture to a more market-driven value-creating sector, with better linkages to urban markets, and at the same time harnessing the opportunities of urbanisation and digital investments, particularly in secondary cities.
• Political and Economic Governance, with aim to consolidate good governance and justice as building blocks for socioeconomic transformation, and at the same time support more effective economic governance and investment promotion. In line with EU core values and principles, the focus will remain also on strengthening of public accountability and democratic governance, development of vibrant civil society and respect for human rights.

The EU has made the commitment that at least 85 % of new actions have gender equality as a principal or a significant objective, as defined by the gender equality policy marker of the OECD Development Assistance Committee and that at least 5 % of those actions should have gender equality and women’s and girls’ rights and empowerment as a principal objective.

The EU development assistance will be implemented through various modalities, including sector budget support programmes, technical assistance or project grants to civil society. In parallel, Rwanda also has access to EU regional funds as well as thematic and global budget lines for support of research and innovation, education, training, youth and sport, human rights, and others. Finally, Rwanda benefits from support of EU member states, including in the context of joint TeamEurope initiatives.

The Global Gateway is the EU’s positive offer of cooperation to our partner countries in support of their own strategic autonomy, aligning partner countries and EU interests, by scaling up high-quality geostrategic investments and promoting sustainable financing.

Covering five main themes (digital, climate and energy, transport, health and education and research), it is implemented thought the Team Europe approach. 

EU DELEGATION RWANDA

In Rwanda, the EU is working collectively on a number of flagship initiatives under the Global Gateway: Sustainable and inclusive green agriculture; Sustainable Rwandan cities fit for the digital age; Manufacturing vaccines and medical equipment.

Country Flagship “Investing in sustainable and inclusive agriculture transformation”:

The Team Europe initiative on Agricultural transformation for EUR 206.8 Million englobes actions from the EU and five EU Member States (BE, NL, SE, LU and FR), or their respective agencies. It aims at promoting a sustainable, inclusive and resilient agricultural transformation for Rwanda, providing revenues and jobs for women and men. It includes actions on climate adaptation in agriculture, in line with ambitious NDC adaptation targets, along with value chain development and women empowerment.

Under this initiative, the EU provides budget support for climate smart agriculture. The EU and NL support the Kigali Wholesale market, which will be the first market of this kind in Eastern Africa and a key milestone for Rwanda to deliver on its objective of becoming a “distribution hub” for fresh produces in Eastern and Central Africa.

Country Flagship “Sustainable Rwandan cities fit for the digital age”:

The Team Europe Initiative on “Sustainable Rwandan cities fit for the digital age” brings together the European Union, the European Investment Bank (EIB), with EU Member States (so far including Sweden, Denmark, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Germany and some of their respective IFIs). It aims to tap in the potential of Rwandan cities to drive innovation and spur the creation of jobs fit for the 21st century. We are currently developing a joint intervention logic and, so far, the interventions amounts to EUR 280 million in both grants and loans.

The key objectives are

- To improve and make cities more inclusive by connecting technologies, communities and nature;

- To support youth-led innovation, green investments and innovative partnerships in cities and secondary cities;

- To foster Smart City readiness to unpack the potential for cities’ digital transformation towards a globally competitive, knowledge-based society.

Regional flagship MAV+: local vaccine manufacturing in Rwanda

Under the regional TEI MAV+, Team Europe in Rwanda plays a key role in making the operation successful by:

- ensuring that the Rwanda FDA will be in position to effectively regulate the operation (licensing the company, perform lot release if need be);

-  ensuring that the country is well equipped to provide the necessary workforce for the industry in the medium term, ranging from core functions (expected to be mostly filled through foreign expertise first) to auxiliary services.

BioNTech is progressing with its plans to produce vaccines in Rwanda. Team Europe is supporting the ecosystem and landing environment for this investment, through a Twinning project between the Rwanda Food and Drug Authority and regulatory agencies in EU. With this support, the Rwanda Food and Drug Authority is on track to reach WHO maturity level 3 enabling it to fully regulate pharmaceutical products including vaccines manufacturing in Rwanda. Team Europe also plays a key role in making the operation successful by ensuring that the country is well equipped to provide the necessary workforce for the industry in the medium term, ranging from core functions to auxiliary services. With the EU support, a Master of Science and PhD programme in Biotechnology was launched by University of Rwanda in 2023.

Economic and trade relations between the EU and Rwanda are substantial. The EU is Rwanda's biggest foreign investor with USD 211 million in 2022. The European Union is Rwanda's second largest trade partner, accounting for about 11 per cent of its total trade. EU exports to Rwanda are mainly manufactured products such as machinery, transport equipment and chemicals. EU imports from Rwanda are dominated by primary products, especially agricultural goods and vegetable and mineral products.

EU DELEGATION RWANDA

The EU and the EAC have concluded negotiations for the EU – EAC Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), which Rwanda and Kenya signed on 1 September 2016. The agreement covers trade in goods and development cooperation. It also contains an extensive chapter on fisheries – aiming mainly to reinforce cooperation on the sustainable use of resources - and foresees further negotiations on services and trade-related rules in future. Since other regional partners have not signed up to the agreement, and following the decision of the EAC summit in 2021 to authorise interested EAC Member States to pursue implementation of the agreement bilaterally, the EU is now exploring ways to set up an interim agreement with interested partners.  

The Export Helpdesk [external link] provides all information to existing or potential exporters from Rwanda and the East African Community (EAC) for access to the EU single market.

In order to achieve greater results in terms of poverty reduction and development, the Government of Rwanda aims to place more emphasis on accountability towards the citizens and that citizen participation in decision-making processes. The 11th EDF Accountable Democratic Governance Programme (ADGP) was the key programme responding to these objectives over the years 2018-2023. It supported 1) Parliament in carrying out its constitutional mandate, in its oversight function of the Executive. 2) The Office of the Ombudsman in delivering its mandate on investigating corruption and in addressing the Access to information function. 3) The Ministry of Justice in improving Access to justice focusing on the decentralized justice actors, particularly the Abunzi committees, and the provision of legal education. 

EU DELEGATION RWANDA

Building on the ADGP achievements, under the Annual Action Plan 2022, the EU decided a new Justice and Accountability Programme (€19.5m 2023-2027) aligned with Rwanda’s Vision 2050 and Sustainable Development Goal 16.

The action will contribute to Rwanda’s priorities under the National Strategy for Transformation (NST1), Pillar 3-Transformational Governance, through the implementation of the Justice, Reconciliation, Law and Order Sector (JRLOS) Strategic Plan 2018-2024. In particular the focus will be on (i) Strengthening Justice, Law and Order; (ii) Supporting peaceful reconciliation by the reintegration of prisoners and ex-perpetrators of genocide into society and (iii) Raising the voice of civil society and strengthening accountability of public service delivery towards citizens.

The EU Delegation also supports economic governance through different projects in coordination with other Member States. These projects aim specifically at:

• Reinforcing the capacity of the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR) to produce reliable policy-oriented statistics. EU support focuses particularly on the production and publication of regular vital and business statistics such as the 2022 Rwanda Population and Housing Census;
• Strengthening public finance management through specific support to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MINECOFIN) as well as through close coordination efforts with various stakeholders, building the capacity and confidence of the Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA), particularly related to international taxation and transfer pricing, and supporting the Office of the Auditor General.

Civil society and respect for human rights are integral part of EU – Rwanda relations in all areas of cooperation.  The EU therefore offers financial support to strengthen the capacity of civil society organisations to ensure their meaningful participation in development, implementation and monitoring of national policies.

EU DELEGATION RWANDA

In parallel, the EU's support of civil society organisations through thematic programmes helps to contribute to awareness raising and promotion of human rights issues in society in line with the 2012 European Commission Communication 'The roots of democracy and sustainable development: Europe's engagement with civil society in external relations'. This policy promotes an enhanced and strategic engagement with civil society in partner countries, with a particular focus on local CSOs. It also calls for a strategic approach at country level for the EU and its countries through the development of EU Roadmaps for engagement with civil society in each specific country.

The EU CSO Roadmap for Rwanda has been compiled through an extensive consultation process led by the EU Delegation, in collaboration with EU member states and CSOs. The purpose of the Roadmap is to establish a common strategic framework for the EU Delegation and the EU countries with a view to improving the impact, predictability and visibility of EU action.

In addition, the Delegation’s protection and promotion of human rights in Rwanda is guided by the EU and member states’ Human Rights and Democracy Country Strategy 2021-24. This localises the EU’s global Action Plan for Human Rights and Democracy 2020-24.

Funding and other opportunities for civil society society organisations is allocated primarily through Calls for Proposals. Interested groups should check the EU website regularly for updates, and/or follow our social media accounts @EUinRW, @EUDelegationRWA, @euinrwanda   

The EU was, until the end of 2021, one of the main development partners of Rwanda in the area of energy. Starting 2022, efforts from the EU in Rwanda will mainly focus on a) the clean cooking sector b) major regional power generation projects

With regards to clean cooking, Rwanda has been selected as one of the beneficiary countries of the Global Climate Change Alliance Plus (GCCA+)(link is external) fund. This initiative aims to foster dialogue and cooperation on climate change between the European Union (EU) and developing countries most vulnerable to climate change. In particular, these funds will support the implementation of the Biomass Energy Strategy in reducing the climate impact of cooking in Rwanda through improved cooking systems.

EU DELEGATION RWANDA

The DeSIRA (Development -Smart Innovation through Research in Agriculture) initiative, supported by the European Union (EU) with some EU member states and other partners such as the Melinda and Bill Gates Foundation, aims to implement research on forest productivity and cooking habits and methods with a view to narrowing the gap between sustainable national biomass supply and demand. Last, the EU will support the supply of more than 700 efficient cook stoves to over 300 schools.

On generation projects, current support includes EU financing through the EU - Africa Infrastructure Trust Fund (link is external) and the Africa Investment Platform towards the development of regional hydropower projects such as Ruzizi III & IV (Rwanda-DRC-Burundi)

The EU offers opportunities for support to investments in the area of energy ElectriFI (link is external)  by providing reimbursable grants for quasi-equity instruments, subordinated debt, working capital facilities, development finance and guarantees, and other type of investment facilities.

The EU promotes peace, stability and regional integration in Rwanda and its neighbouring countries. In this regard several projects are financed to contribute to better management of shared water resources in Lake Kivu and the Rusizi river.

The EU also supports Rwanda and neighbouring countries’ objectives of an increased and improved mobility of people and goods, more affordable transport for a better access to essential services, good quality infrastructure and improved safety for goods and passengers. As part of this effort, the EU has co-financed rehabilitation of the 208 km Kagitumba-Kayonza–Rusumo road with a contribution from the EU-Africa Infrastructure Trust Fund (link is external) via the African Development Bank.

The EU aims to support Rwanda’s engagement and leadership in regional bodies and the implementation of Rwanda’s international trade commitments, in particular the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA). The EU Delegation is supporting Rwanda’s efforts on trade facilitation, the reduction of non-tariff barriers, harmonising standards, and liberalising investment and services. It will also enhance investment promotion and support a more conducive business environment with a focus on improving investor after-care and investor protection.

Lastly, the EU funded Action “Secure Cross-Border Social, Economic and Commercial Activities in the Great Lakes Region” works towards strengthening the economic integration and social cohesion of the cross-border communities of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), through the implementation of an integrated border management approach, facilitated by improved infrastructure, including the construction of relevant border facilities comprising the One Stop Border Post (OSBP) at Rusizi 2 border, warehousing and truck parking, complemented by road construction to and from the border post.

President Paul Kagame has been a champion for local vaccine production in Africa and the need to strengthen health systems on the continent in view of future outbreaks. The country has embarked on an ambitious plan to deliver this vision, which has gathered support from many development partners and Team Europe in particular.

EU DELEGATION RWANDA

The EU in Rwanda has rapidly positioned itself as one of the leading partners to support the country in developing its own production and attracting private investment. This comes against the backdrop of the initiative launched in 2021 by President Von der Leyen at the G20 Global Health Summit, which aims to mobilize the EU and the EU development finance institutions to support local vaccine production in Africa.

The first drug manufacturing plant is set to start manufacturing in Rwanda in 2024. This endeavour brings about the need to address a wider vaccine-manufacturing environment: the need for technology transfer, specialised equipment, skilled personnel and the necessity to boost the capacity of national regulatory authorities, namely of the Rwanda Food and Drug Agency (Rwanda FDA), which will play a key role in this process.

In this context, the EU using a Team Europe approach supports the country’s ambitions through:

• Improving regulation of human medicines, including vaccines via the EU support to the Rwanda FDA through a Twinning cooperation with a consortia of EU regulatory agencies
• The EU complements the latter through a support to RFDA with training and laboratory equipment, the digitalisation of pharmaceutical system, as well as to help improve the wider skills’ development in the country, specifically at university level.
• Lastly, the EU, in partnership with the EIB and WHO), will also support the construction of a National Health Laboratory, which will improve the country’s testing, diagnosis, and prevention capacities concerning future epidemics. It will also support training of personnel working in the laboratory.

Over the last quarter century, Rwanda has made great progress in building a well-functioning system for basic education, with clear gains in particular in expanding access to primary education. However, big challenges remain. According to the World Bank’s Human Capital Index (HCI) Rwanda scores particularly low on education-related indicators. A child who starts school at age 4 can expect to complete 6.9 years of school by his/her 18th birthday.

EU DELEGATION RWANDA

Factoring in what children actually learn, expected years of school drops to 3.9 years. Less than two thirds of Rwandan children complete primary education. In grade one about a quarter of all students, repeat. This reflects that a large majority of children are not adequately prepared for schooling because they enter primary education without having had access to adequate early childhood development opportunities.

Concerning Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), structures remain ill equipped and unable to deliver training of adequate quality. The sustained involvement of private sector in curricula development, aligning them with market needs, and traineeships of graduates and students would strengthen employability outcomes.

The EU's main objectives, in its partnership with Rwanda on Education for 2021-2024, will be to support Early Childhood Development and Education (ECD/ECE) and TVET sectors:

• EU support to ECE/ECD will help Rwanda to deliver on its ambitious objective to increase access to ECE services. EU interventions will support integrated approaches combining schools’ construction, teachers’ training, quality standards and assessments, health, nutrition, childhood development and early learning (including parenting support programmes), community-based childcare and formal pre-primary education.
• EU support to the TVET sector will seek to address issues around access, namely-affordability and proximity; the need to improve the quality of education (school management, curricula); and their alignment of learning outcomes with the needs of private sector.

Well-managed urbanisation will be another essential driver for Rwanda to achieve its twin aspirations of growth and improved quality of life. Urbanisation generates enormous economic benefits as the concentration of economic activity and job opportunities provides the potential to attract surplus agricultural labour and promote migration from rural areas.

EU DELEGATION RWANDA

Poorly managed urbanisation could however threaten the state of the environment, leading to increased vulnerability to flood risks, land degradation and biodiversity loss. Scarce access to land in and around Kigali has resulted in unplanned settlements, many of which are exposed to climate hazards, particularly flooding. The city’s extensive network of wetlands has shrunk from 100 sq. km in 2013 to the current level of 72 sq. km due to encroachment by activities such as industry and urban agriculture.

Some other fundamental problems associated with urban development and management in the country include insufficient urban pull factors including a weak urban economy and inadequate urban services; weak urban governance and institutional coordination; uncontrolled urban sprawls and informal settlements; weak rural-urban linkages; and inadequate urban investment and financing.

Rwanda therefore seems at a critical junction: while overall urbanisation in Rwanda is still low (27.9% according to the 2022 census), the annual urban growth rate stood at 3.2% in 2019, and some secondary cities are experiencing growth rates two or three times higher than the national average. It is therefore important to act now: most urban areas and infrastructure are yet to be built.

The EU's main objectives, in its partnership with Rwanda on sustainable urbanisation for 2021-2024, will therefore cover two main areas:

a) Strengthening urban governance and management, supporting broad-based engagement and inclusive citizen participation in urban processes;

b) Improved service delivery at city level for various sub-sectors such as storm water management and flood prevention, affordable housing and informal settlements upgrading, support smart cities initiatives, and sustainable urban mobility;

The focus will be on major issues still faced by Kigali, but also on satellite cities, to foster a more balanced system of cities within the country.

The European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) offers needs-based humanitarian assistance to Rwanda in line with the implementation of EU's Humanitarian Implementation Plan for the Great Lakes Region.

EU DELEGATION RWANDA

In this context, the EU is, together with EU Member States, one of the main financial and technical supporters of UN Agency for Refugees (UNHCR) (link is external) globally and together with the UNHCR and the Government of Rwanda helps to provide assistance to the refugees from the Great Lakes region residing in the country. In addition, the EU provides a support package of €34.5 million to the UNHCR's Emergency Transit Mechanism (ETM) in Rwanda, offering a life-saving avenue out of Libya for people in need of international protection, with a view to their further resettlement. The EU also works with Congolese and Burundian refugee populations in Rwanda to provide skills-building opportunities and to promote access to livelihoods.

The EU is a long term partner of Rwanda in the areas of rural development, climate resilience, environment and biodiversity. Support to the Social Protection Relief and Recovery Pillar benefiting the most vulnerable to COVID 19 pandemic has as well been provided in the midst of Covid 19 pandemic. In 2021, the EU and Rwanda have jointly identified a comprehensive €69 million programme for the period 2022-2025.

EU DELEGATION RWANDA

 This new programme intends to consolidate the transition to socially and environmentally inclusive agri-food systems, including the improvement of inclusive agriculture value chains targeting local, regional and international markets. In line with Rwanda’s economic development, emissions profile and climate vulnerability, climate adaptation measures in the agricultural sector are supported, whilst enhancing climate and biodiversity benefits. Gender sensitive actions are included in the programme. 

The programme will include a mix of institutional support to improve the agricultural and environmental national policy framework, and a Team Europe Initiative ‘Investing in sustainable and inclusive agricultural transformation’, jointly conceived and funded with EU Member States.   

The Team Europe initiative is built around the construction and development of the Kigali Wholesale market and related markets in secondary cities, as central components of highly productive and inclusive value chains. The transformational objective of the initiative is to drive an innovative, sustainable and inclusive shift towards market-oriented high-value cropping systems geared towards feeding the cities. Enhancing rural-urban markets connectivity will raise agricultural productivity, and consolidate private sector mobilisation across value chains. Women participation along the different value chains is a priority. Value chains pre-identified are horticulture and livestock, including aquaculture and fisheries, given economic potential and expected impact on nutrition and food security.

The institutional support will be implemented following a budget support logic: disbursements based on NST1/PST4 and NDC policy indicators performance, technical assistance and policy dialogue.

The EU is a strongly committed player in the different policy dialogue fora in Rwanda, in the areas of agriculture, environment, gender and social protection.

Further than the new 2022-2025 program, the EU is currently implementing the following operations:

• Agroforestry, evergreen agriculture and agro-ecology with projects with IUCN, ICRAF, World Vision and CCOAIB on the development of agroforestry, evergreen agriculture and agro-ecology techniques with the communities and the integration agroforestry programs into district development plans.
• Development of inclusive intensive and high value addition agriculture with: i) the support to FAO on value chain platforms and agriculture innovation; ii) the construction of a new NAEB laboratory and cooperation at regional level with EAC secretariat for enhanced quality of export crops; iii) the support to horticulture and coffee value chains through grants to Technoserve, Tearfund, ICU and Oxfam.
• New and better data collection and analysis efforts for enhanced agricultural policy relevance and public investment analysis, in partnership with the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).

The EU has made the commitment that at least 85% of all actions funded under the Neighbourhood Development and Cooperation Instrument (NDICI) have gender equality and women and girls’ empowerment as a principal or a significant objective. This strong commitment to Gender Equality and Women Empowerment is reflected in the Country Level Implementation Plan (2020-2024) together with EU Member States present in Rwanda.

In 2022, the EU has launched the new Aguka programme targeting private sector development, with a focus on youth employability and entrepreneurship for business and job creation in Rwanda. This programme will contribute to creation of more than 100,000 job for youth (including both girls and boys) in addition to 1,600 new businesses for and by youth. Furthermore, it will provide funding for more than 5,320 youth (both young women and men) led SMES among other results and impacts.

EU DELEGATION RWANDA

Aguka contributes to the on-going Hanga Hubs project that seeks to increase equal access to employment opportunities through innovation/incubation hubs in four secondary cities. We believe that both projects will make a meaningful contribution to the Government's objective to create 214,000 new jobs per year up to 2024, whilst also being a first effort by the EU in terms of supporting private sector development as a crucial driver of economic development in Rwanda.

Moreover, the EU in collaboration with the Rwanda Development Board aims to further foster private sector led growth. The programme aims at (1) enhancing the production of reliable policy-oriented statistics and (2) promoting trade and investment across sectors, which would provide support to households and boost employment and growth. This  action  further  crowds  in  private  investment  in  key  economic  sectors  such  services,  infrastructure, agriculture, energy, information and communication technologies.

In addition, the EU support aims to strengthen the contribution of the mining sector to economic and social development through a holistic intervention, including support to the professionalization and modernisation of operators, digitalisation of licenses and procedures, labour rights and social protection, training and skills upgrading. The new project was launched in 2022 in collaboration with the Rwanda Mining Board to reinforce the attractiveness of a high potential economic sector notably in terms of the creation of decent jobs.

Finally, the EU continues to assist the European Business Chamber of Rwanda in performing its mission to support both European businesses trading in Rwanda and Rwandan businesses exporting to Europe; to provide a forum for networking within the business community; and to be a partner for Government and development partners for policy dialogue on relevant issues.

The Delegation of the EU to Rwanda carries out regular public diplomacy activities to reach out to Rwandan stakeholders to increase the knowledge and understanding of the EU, its policies and actions in Rwanda and to create links between European and Rwandans.

EU DELEGATION RWANDA

This is achieved e.g. through cultural and other public events. These actions to increase the visibility of EU relations with Rwanda are undertaken in close cooperation with the missions of EU countries.

The EU also engages in economic diplomacy activities to support EU traders and investors in Rwanda with a view to increase economic exchanges between the partners. In the context of EU climate diplomacy, the Delegation of the EU to Rwanda organises or participates in events to spread awareness about the importance of climate change mitigation and adaptation and promoting the role of youth in climate actions.

Some examples of our regular activities are:

Europe Day

Each 9 May Europe Day celebrates peace and unity in Europe as it marks the anniversary of the historic 1950 Schuman Declaration, which set out a vision for a new form of European political cooperation which sought to make war between European nations unthinkable. Europe Day is celebrated in Kigali.

"European Autumn of Culture" including the EU Film Festival

Every year, the European Union Film Festival gives Rwandans a chance to experience Europe's diverse and rich film heritage. Whether highlighting historic events, political subjects or personal dilemmas, European films are intellectually stimulating and culturally engaging. The festival runs for one week and is organised by the Delegation in cooperation with the Diplomatic Missions and cultural institutes of EU countries. Around this, the EU Delegation and MS organise other events and cultural manifestations, bringing together EU and Rwandan artists seeking to attract Rwandan audiences from all ages and spheres of society.

European Street Fair

The European Street Fair is one of Kigali's largest events and is organized once a year by the EU Delegation together with Member States in Rwanda. The fair includes stand presentations, games, dance performances, art exhibitions, live music, as well as food and drinks from Kigali's vendors. The event is open to all and aims to raise awareness about the EU's work in Rwanda.