On the margins of the G77+China Summit, Rwanda and Cuba they signed two agreements, one on Political Consultations and a Visa Waiver Agreement for holders of diplomatic, official and service passports.
Rwanda’s Foreign Affairs Minister Dr. Vincent Biruta met with his counterpart, Bruno Rodriguez, and appended their signatures on the instruments.
Cuba signed similar agrements with Burundi and Uganda.
However, with the Ugandan Foreign Minister Jeje Odongo, the Cuban FM only signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Inter-Chancellery Political Consultations.
Rodríguez also signed the agreements with his Burundian counterpart Albert Shingiro on visa exemption and regular political consultations.
The foreign ministers are part of the delegations of the member states that are present at the G77 Summit to be held since Friday at the Havana International Conference center (HICC).
Meanwhile Rwanda and Cuba have signed other agreements in the recent times.
In April last year, the two countries signed a Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement (BASA) to open up air links between Rwanda and both the Caribbean and South America.
There are other areas of cooperation such as in health and security.
In 2016, Rwanda cabinet named an envoy to Cuba – and President Paul Kagame made yet more strong indication he could visit the island nation.
A cabinet meeting chaired by President Kagame appointed Gregory Biniowsky, a Cuban, as Rwanda’s honorary consul to Havana.
Kagame is well conversant with Cuba, where he acquired part of his military training.
Kagame said then that he was “looking forward to be back there [Cuba] after 29/30 years!”
He finally did.
“For me, coming to Havana, Cuba is something of a great memory because I was in this country in 1986 running to 1987. That is 36 years ago. I was a young officer, serving in a country that had given me a home as well which was Uganda. And I was here to do a course that was given to many Africans,” Kagame said.
He attended the Summit and also spoke on areas of cooperation in International Affairs including technology, and bilateral trade.
“Science and technology have the power to unite us and transform our future for the better. Unfortunately, access to the latest technology is not universal. In poorer countries, this negatively affects the response to emergencies,” he said.
He said that South-to-South cooperation can mean different things.
“But in our context, it should be about changing the narrative that developing countries cannot be part of global solutions, for ourselves and the whole world.”
He added thay, “Beyond science and technology, we have a lot to offer the world, including in the field of energy, agriculture, and peace and security. This wealth of knowledge and expertise, we also need to share among ourselves.”
Meanwhile the President met and discussed with several counterparts of Venezuela and Angola among others.
President Kagame also met with President João Lourenço of Angola on the sidelines of the G77 + China Summit, where they discussed regional and continental matters of interest, as well as further expanding bilateral partnerships. pic.twitter.com/QSVX7kRlDd
— Presidency | Rwanda (@UrugwiroVillage) September 15, 2023
