The UK Minister of State for Africa, Harriett Baldwin MP, arrived in Kigali on Friday to join the commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.
The UK Minister of State for Africa, Harriett Baldwin MP, arrived in Kigali on Friday to join the commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.
On Sunday she will join dozens of other dignitaries from across the world to mark a day of remembrance at the Gisozi memorial in Kigali.
Minister for Africa Harriett Baldwin said:
I am proud to be here in Kigali to represent the United Kingdom and to pay my respects to the victims of the Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. The Rwandan people have shown incredible resilience and unity and I am truly inspired by the transformative progress that Rwanda has made since 1994.
The UK Government is committed to continuing to assist Rwanda’s recovery from the Genocide: holding perpetrators to account and ensuring justice is achieved.
The UK and Rwanda have a deep, long-standing relationship and I look forward to continuing to work together to build a more peaceful, prosperous and stable future for all.
Minister Baldwin is also planning to visit UK aid funded programmes in Rwanda. She will talk to those who have benefitted from the Government of Rwanda’s VUP social protection programme which has received £62.3 million (RWF 73.3 billion) from UK aid over the last 5 years.
The programme has helped over 242,000 of the poorest households through public works and cash transfers. This is aligned with a UK aid priority to leave no-one behind.
Minister Baldwin said:
I am looking forward to spending time in Rwanda and reaffirming the partnership with the UK.
I was last in Rwanda in 2009. This visit will allow me to see the significant development and economic growth that I know the country has experienced in the last 10 years.
As Chair In Office of the Commonwealth Heads of Government, we are looking forward to working with Rwanda as it prepares for CHOGM 2020.
Minister Baldwin will also spend some time looking at how UK aid is supporting jobs and economic growth in Rwanda.
She will visit the Africa Improved Foods factory, which is a joint venture producing highly nutritious foods used to combat malnutrition in humanitarian operations around the world.
As well as the Minimex factory which is the largest mill in the country, producing high quality maize flour sold across East Africa. With the support of UK aid, the recent investment by AgDevCo will allow it to increase its capacity and ramp up purchases from tens of thousands of maize farmers across the country.
This is part of a set of UK aid investments supporting agriculture worth £59.5 million (RWF 70.3 billion) from the UK Department for International Development over the period 2015 to 2022.
