Amb. Gatete made the remarks on Wednesday as he officiated the opening of the 3rd National Urban Forum taking place in Rwanda bringing together over 300 participants from different countries.
Referring to a study conducted by the Government of Rwanda and the World Bank, Minister Gatete said a well-managed urbanization process is one of the key future drivers of growth, human capital development, export dynamism, competitive enterprises, agricultural modernization and capable public institutions.
“Urbanization offers an opportunity to increase off-farm employment and development of cities. Pursuing the urbanization agenda, Rwanda will be in a good position to transform its economy from agriculture-based to a more industrialized and service-based economy,” Minister Gatete said adding that Rwanda has prioritized urbanization as an engine of socio-economic development and sustainable human settlement with a target of reaching 35% of urbanization rate by 2024 from 18.4% in 2017.
Gatete also highlighted the role of the youth in the sustainability of urbanization and the development of cities in Rwanda as the country’s largest population group.
“70% of the Rwandan population is youth and the youths are the strength and the future of this nation. We can’t achieve cities’ development without their participation. We always seek ways to develop their capacity to enable them innovate as they are able to create jobs for the nation’s future,” he said.
The Executive Director of the UN Habitat, Maimunah Mohd Sharif commended Rwanda for the step it has made in developing cities and urbanization through participatory planning that involves the community.
“The Rwandan Government has great strategies guiding sustainable urbanization and the outcomes can be seen on the ground. Having the community involved at all levels gives space for creation of solutions to challenges they are facing,” she said.
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