Rwanda President Paul Kagame is currently in Benin for a two-day State visit (April 14 to 16) according to the Presidency.
“President Kagame has arrived in Cotonou where First Lady Jeannette Kagame arrived earlier today. The President and First Lady are in Benin for a two-day State Visit,” The Presidency said on Saturday.
According to the Presidency of the Republic of Benin, the State visit, “will start with the reception of the Rwandan presidential couple today at Cotonou International Airport by a government delegation.”
Early the next day, President Kagame and his delegation will be received at the Marina Palace by President Patrice Talon.
Initially, the two personalities will have a one-on-one before opening the discussions to their respective collaborators.
According to forecasts, this working session will be sanctioned by the signing of agreements in various fields.
On Saturday evening, Paul Kagamé will be at the Sèmè City Development Agency, the International City of Innovation and Knowledge, where he will have discussions with young entrepreneurs, students and start-up promoters.
The other highlight of the stay of the Rwandan presidential couple in Cotonou is the guided tour of the Place de l’Amazone erected in honour of the women of Benin of yesterday and today on the one hand and of the Monument to the Devoted established in the Garden of Mathieu in memory of the children of Benin devoted to the fatherland.
According to Cotonou President Kagame’s State visit will help to strengthen relations between Benin and Rwanda; relationships that have been in good shape for several years. It is also in this sense that economic and military issues are announced at the heart of this stay in Cotonou.
As soon as he came to power, Patrice Talon went to Kigali on an official visit at the invitation of his counterpart Paul Kagame from August 29 to 31, 2016, where he not only observed different development approaches, and learned from the models used by Rwanda in several sectors.
The exchanges between the two Heads of State had resulted in a multi-sector cooperation agreement which aimed to develop joint actions in order to launch the first flight of the Rwandan company which will now serve Benin, to operate a technical cooperation agreement between the Rwanda Development Board, and the Bureau of Analysis and Investigation which, within the presidency of Benin, supports the establishment of various agencies, particularly in digital.
It was also decided to work together on local governance, education, etc.
It should be noted that, as part of the strengthening of relations between Benin and Rwanda, the two countries signed, during the first session of the Great Joint Commission for Cooperation between the two countries held on September 29 and 30, 2017 in Rubavu in Rwanda, agreements in the fields of Information and Communication Technologies, cadastral service, environment and sustainable development.
Cotonou says these various agreements have enabled experts from both countries to work together for the well-being of both peoples.
