China has announced a new plantation agreement with Rwanda after signing a major deal during the recently concluded Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit.
At the meeting, the two countries issued a statement outlining various areas of cooperation, including trade, the most significant being the honey export agreement that paves the way for Rwandan honey to enter theChinese market.
At a press conference in Kigali, Gao Zhiqiang, Counselor for Trade and Industry at the Chinese Embassy, endorsed the honey export agreement as a gateway for Rwandan honey to enter the Chinese market but said the agreement was only the first step and that further procedures must be followed.
Both the Rwandan Minister of Agriculture and the Minister of Customs were happy to see the Honey Protocol being implemented, as this opens the door for Rwandan honey to enter the Chinese market.
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The Chinese and Rwandan companies should work together to better understand the characteristics of the Chinese market and consumers to achieve better results in the market.
When asked about the possibility of Rwanda building a joint internal railway with China or connecting to its East African neighbours, Gao Zhiqiang, Counselor for Trade and Industry at the Chinese Embassy confirmed that some talks and feasibility studies were being conducted.
However, he emphasised that Rwanda’s challenging topography would make railway construction very expensive currently, and thus, the country is now prioritising road infrastructure.
However, he noted that as far as he knew, the government had put the railway project on its agenda that Chinese companies were currently working with the Ministry of Infrastructure and that the University of Rwanda was conducting a feasibility study to determine when and how the railway would be built. will be built.
