The facility was launched on Monday 7th November 2022 in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt on the sidelines of the 27th United Nations Climate Change conference commonly referred to as Conference of the Parties (COP27).
Ireme Invest is a is a groundbreaking new investment facility powered by the Rwanda Green Fund and the Development Bank of Rwanda (BRD) with support from a range of valued partners.
Ireme Invest – a one stop center for green and sustainable investment – was launched with an initial capitalization of US$104 million to support the Private sector to access green finance.
“Climate adaptation requires big changes in how we produce and consume energy. How we move around, all that depends on climate adaptation and change. What we eat, and how it’s grown. All that comes together. In short the entire economy is affected, which means the private sector has a tremendous role to play,” said Kagame on the launch of Ireme Invest.
“Ireme Invest embodies Rwanda’s commitment to achieving tangible results toward a green economy through public-private partnerships in key areas,” he added.
The launch of Ireme Invest marks a significant milestone on Rwanda’s sustainable finance journey.
President Kagame commended the Development Bank of Rwanda for the seed capital it has invested in this fund, building on the solid track record of the Rwanda Green Fund (FONERWA).
He also appreciated partner institutions including the Governments of France, Sweden and the United Kingdom, as well as the European Investment Bank an the Green Climate Partnership Fund noting that without them all that being done by Rwandan institutions would not go very far.
The Head of State also noted that these partners have contributed to the first round of capitalisation, bringing the total to more than US$100 million.
The launch of Ireme Invest at COP27 convened leaders from global finance institutions and partners who have committed to this green finance initiative.
On Monday 7th November 2022, the Government of Rwanda released a statement indicating that a fighter jet Sukhoi-25 belonging to Congolese Army (FARDC) violated its airspace and briefly landed at Rubavu Airport in Western Province.
The jet touched down at the airport at 11h20.
On Monday evening, DRC Ministry of Communication also released a statement acknowledging that the country’s ‘unarmed reconnaissance jet accidentally entered Rwanda’s airspace’.
The violation followed escalating tensions between Rwanda and DRC over reciprocal accusations related to the fight between Congolese Army and M23 rebel group.
DRC accused Rwanda of supporting the rebel group, a claim which Rwanda has repeatedly rejected but accused DRC of working with the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) during the fighting with M23.
FDLR is a terrorist group formed by individuals responsible for the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
These were the people, who were at the time engaged in various unlawful cross-border activities such as smuggling and illegal fishing.
During its month-long community development activities dubbed the ‘Police Month’ to mark its 21st anniversary, in December last year, the RNP gave a financial support of over Rwf40 million to these cooperatives as part of its human security and crime prevention programmes.
Now, the force, in partnership with the Ministry of ICT and Innovation, and UNDP have donated nine computers and 150 smartphones to nine cooperatives supported by RNP, to facilitate them in record-keeping and communication.
The IT equipment were handed over this Monday, November 7, in Gisenyi, Rubavu District at the end of the three-week training for 205 members of the cooperatives.
During the three weeks, participants acquired computer skills and were enlightened on community policing.
While closing the training, Esther Kinda, the Director General for Innovation and Emerging Technologies in the Ministry of ICT and Innovation, thanked them for taking the right path to development.
She urged them to handle with care the given IT equipment and be an inspiration to others that are still engaged in illegal activities.
Superintendent of Police (SP) Jean Claude Kabandana, the director for human security in the RNP department of Community Policing, also urged them to inspire others to join cooperatives.
“You were organized in cooperatives because what you were doing was wrong and punishable by law. Now, you can see that there is always an alternative from unlawful practices. Be the voice against those who are still involved in lawlessness,” SP Kabandana said.
Rwanda FPU III-5 replaced Rwanda FPU III-IV, which is stationed in the capital Juba.
In the morning at about 11 a.m, 160 women and men of Rwanda FPU III-5, majority females, commanded by Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Specioza Dusabe, left Kigali International Airport (KIA) for the one year peacekeeping mission in South Sudan.
The replaced contingent returned home later at about 3:30p.m after a successful one year tour-of-duty, under the command of SSP Mathias Muhire.
Commissioner of Police (CP) Costa Habyara, Commissioner for Counterterrorism in RNP presided over the departure and arrival of the contingents at the KIA.
The statement released by the government today reads that the incident occurred in the morning of Monday 7th November 2022.
“A Sukhoi-25 fighter jet from the Democratic Republic of Congo violated Rwandan airspace at 11h20 this morning and briefly touched down at Rubavu Airport in Western Province,” reads the statement in part.
“No military action was taken by Rwanda in response, and the jet returned to DRC. Rwandan authorities have protested this provocation to the DRC who acknowledged the incident,” adds the statement.
Commenting on the incident, the Spokesperson of the Government of Rwanda, Yolande Makolo has via Twitter account indicated that ‘the incursion by the DRC Sukhoi-25 fighter jet is one of many provocations following cross-border shelling of Rwandan territory with rockets earlier this year’.
The provocation has happened following media reports on Sunday that Goma Airport was closed the whole day on Sunday awaiting the arrival of fighter jets.
It comes amidst escalating tensions between Rwanda and DRC over reciprocal accusations related to the fight between Congolese Army (FARDC) and M23 rebel group.
FARDC continues to loose bases to M23 rebel group and attributes its strength to alleged support from Rwanda.
Rwanda has however denied the allegations repeatedly calling the fight with M23 an internal problem which should be addressed by DRC.
DRC President, Félix Tshisekedi recently revealed figuratively that it is time to wage a war on Rwanda after elucidating that diplomatic process is no longer a promising option to restore peace in the eastern part of his country.
Tshisekedi made the revelation in the evening of Thursday 3rd November 2022 as he delivered state of the nation address.
He said that the M23 rebel group is receiving support from Rwanda in terms of resources and reinforcement troops.
Alluding to waging a war on Rwanda, Tshisekedi said that his country had two options to address security problems in eastern DRC: diplomacy and war.
“I have resolved to prefer the first option over the second. So, the diplomatic option has been implemented,” he said.
Tshisekedi also ordered the Congolese army commander to establish dozens of military training centers as part of preparations to respond to alleged Rwanda’s support to M23.
“In response to the appeal of young people to enroll massively in our Armed Forces, I reiterate the instruction given to the Chief of Staff to accelerate the establishment of training centers through the twenty six provinces in our country,” he said.
“The war imposed on us by our neighbours demands sacrifice from each of us. It is time to silence our political differences to defend our motherland together,” added Tshisekedi.
The Senior Defence and Security Advisor in the Office of the President, Gen James Kabarebe has said that Rwanda can’t be drawn into war by provocations of Congolese citizens and politicians speaking ill of the country and staging protests because it would look like a fight with a mad person.
He was responding to a question raised by one of participants of talks that brought together youth volunteers and students from the College of Science and Technology at the University of Rwanda (UR-CST) in the evening of 2nd November 2022.
Gen Kabarebe further revealed that Rwanda fights strategic wars to protect its interests where it can’t be involved in provocations and reprisals over nonsense.
As he officiated the commissioning of 568 new officers of the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) on Friday 4th November 2022, President Paul Kagame said that their primary job is to maintain security not to provoke wars.
“The Rwandan army and other security organs in our country are meant to protect Rwandans, to protect the country and all its citizens, and safeguard the development we have attained, as we move forward. That is what they stand for. That is where we start. We do not start by thinking that the national army as a profession, is just about fighting wars. That comes last,” he said.
“Their primary duty is security, securing our development gains. When the latter is threatened by war, that is when fighting comes in, that is why I said that is the last resort. What we and our country stand for and the mindset of our army professionals, is that the starting point is to protect what we have achieved. This is different from building an army that just fights wars that would be wrong,” added Kagame.
The provocation follows the meeting between Congolese and Rwandan ministers of foreign affairs in held in Angola on 5th November 2022 to de-escalate tensions through dialogue.
The inaugural direct flight to the new destination was operated on Sunday 6th November 2022.
The national career has via Twitter handle revealed that the first direct flight to London took off at 10:00 p.m. on Sunday.
RwandAir’s aircrafts will be landing at Heathrow Airport located in the West of London.
The airline has been operating flights to London via Brussels for the past five years.
RwandAir will be operating four weekly flights to London.
As per recent statement released by RwandAir, flights will depart Kigali each Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday night, to arrive in London the following morning.
The return flight departs the British capital each Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday, arriving at RwandAir’s home hub the following morning.
Customers will experience RwandAir’s state-of-the-art Airbus A330, which offers a choice of flying in Business Class or Economy Class. It has the capacity to carry 250 passengers.
The airline has flown between London and Kigali since May 2017 via an indirect service through Brussels, having launched flights from London Gatwick on 26th May 2017.
In 2020, after three successful years of operations, the African carrier airline decided to switch flights to the UK’s busiest airport London Heathrow, helping to improve connections for those traveling from further afield.
From its hub at the heart of Africa at Kigali International Airport, RwandAir is renowned for its excellent on-time performance, customer service, and safety. The airline has for two successive years been awarded ‘The best airline staff in Africa’.
RwandAir currently serves 28 destinations across East, Central, West, and Southern Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and Asia.
“My sincere condolences to the people of Tanzania and to President Suluhu Samia Samia Suluhu Hassan for the loss of lives following the plane accident. Our thoughts are with the families and loved ones of all the victims,” he tweeted.
The ATR-48 aircraft belonging to Precision Air plunged into Lake Victoria as it approached Bukoba Airport from the Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam.
The plane was carrying 39 passengers.
It is reported that the accident is related to bad weather but investigations are ongoing to establish the cause.
Tanzanian Prime Minister, Kassim Majaliwa has arrived in Bukoba District to join citizens for the funeral of the accident’s victims at Kaitaba Stadium.
He will be representing President Suluhu who is on a working visit to China.
Bukoba Airport is located on the shores of Lake Victoria.
The development is part of resolutions of a meeting between Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Vincent Biruta and his counterpart of DRC, Christophe Lutundula held on Saturday 5th November 2022 in Luanda, the capital of Angola.
They also met with Angolan President, João Lourenço who is the mediator on tensions between Rwanda and DRC.
DRC has been accusing Rwanda of supporting M23 rebel group which captured different areas in eastern part of the country, but Rwanda repeatedly denied the allegations.
On the other hand, Rwanda also accuses DRC of working with the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) to destabilize its security.
FDLR is a terrorist group formed by individuals responsible for the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
A statement announcing resolutions of the meeting held on Saturday shows that both parties met with a view to restore trust between Rwanda and DRC.
The meeting was preceded by another one between military intelligence chiefs from both countries aimed at resuming the implementation of Luanda Roadmap laid out on 6th July 2022.
As per resolutions of the meeting, both ministers of foreign affairs agreed on the necessity to maintain political dialogue between leaders of DRC and Rwanda as way to end tensions between the two brother countries.
Among others, the meeting resolved on the deployment of troops under the Expanded Joint Verification Mechanism (EJVM) to assess the situation in Goma.
The EJVM is a mechanism of the International Conference of the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) composed of military officers from the 12 member countries that is charged with monitoring and verification of border violations between DRC and neighbouring countries.
It has been also resolved that heads of military intelligence will maintain discussions as meetings to mediate both countries through Nairobi and Luanda processes go on.
The meeting takes place a t a time when President Tshisekedi disclosed that he had two options to solve problems with Rwanda: diplomacy and war.
He explained that the first option did not yield good results and requested for mass recruitment of the youth into the military to deal with the enemy.
The mother of two was nervous and in pain as she explained that her untreated 10-year-old joint pain was wearing her down. She said she had been treated by doctors over the years, but the prescribed drugs were not effective.
“It (drug) relieved me a bit…but five minutes later the pain comes back,” the 53-year-old widow told Xinhua as she and hundreds of Cameroonian residents of Bangou and Bamendjou sub-divisions of the Upper Plateau division of the region waited for a team of Chinese specialized medics who had arrived at the region on Friday for a two-day free consultation and treatment campaign.
Bangou and Bamendjou, with a population of over 100,000, are surrounded by many rural communities with abundant wildlife and dispersed settlements, and have only two hospitals. Villagers are often troubled by such health problems as gastritis, typhoid, malaria, cataract, rheumatism. But most of them cannot afford medical services.
“My brother informed me of the health campaign. I left Douala (Cameroon’s commercial hub, more than 200 km away from Bangou) at midnight and arrived here at 6:30 in the morning,” said the retired history teacher and father of five who said he has been suffering from nerves and cramps since 2016.
Martine Kouamo stood looking dejected as she watched her 10-year-old son Christian Djomo who was suffering from testicular pain. His twin sister was suffering from neck strain, and one part of her body was not stable, she said.
“I tried to use traditional medicine (on Djomo) for three years in vain. I think Chinese doctors will help because they work well,” Kouamo said.
As the sun rose over Bangou and Bamendjou, a good number of patients began taking turns to register, consult and then receive treatment from doctors in various departments, who were here as members of the 22nd Chinese medical team to Cameroon.
Fangan was among the first patients to be consulted.
She was carefully administered an acupuncture treatment, an ancient Chinese method of treatment in which fine needles are inserted through the skin at specific points to treat various physical conditions.
“As I speak to you the pain is gone,” Fangan said after the treatment. “I feel better. In the morning I couldn’t swing my neck like this…but now I can swing behind, left and right without problem.”
After being examined, little Djomo was given medicine that he hoped would heal him. “I feel about better,” he said.
For the first time since 2016, Justin Kouamou, 71, felt relieved when his sickness was detected through an echography. Before this, he had visited doctors several times, but results were not satisfactory.
“The Chinese doctors inserted needles in my skin and it magically alleviated my pain. I am still amazed by the wonders of that treatment,” Kouamou told Xinhua two days after he was administered an acupuncture treatment.
Over 1,600 patients were consulted and treated during the campaign that ran from Oct. 29-30, said Paul Sikapin, mayor of Bangou council.
“I asked firmly that such a campaign should be organized next year,” Sikapin said.
Fabrice Dubila, a medical doctor in Bangou sub-divisional hospital, said Cameroonian and Chinese doctors worked shoulder to shoulder in treating patients and offering much-needed medical services during the campaign.
“This is a great opportunity to learn from our colleagues overseas. So far we have collaborated on the diagnosis of some patients and I have also learned some other diagnostic techniques I can use to diagnose some particular diseases notably lipoma and other pathologies. I think it is a very good opportunity to have witnessed acupuncture here in Bangou,” Dubila said.
Theodore Datouo, deputy speaker of Cameroon’s National Assembly who is also a member of parliament of Upper Plateau constituency, said, the campaign was a mark of friendly relations between Cameroon and China.
“China has always assisted Cameroon in the health sector and this time it is the turn of West region to benefit,” said Datouo, the main organizer of the campaign.
“This campaign is for the wellbeing of the population, the health of the population and when the population is healthy, economic development will follow. We thank China for this cooperation and the Chinese medical team in Cameroon,” he added.
Guo Jun, head of the Chinese medical team in Cameroon said, China has already dispatched 22 medical teams and 736 medical professionals to Cameroon since 1975 to diagnose diseases, relieve patients’ pains, improve local health conditions and local medical level.
“Today’s free clinic is just an example. In the future, we will further deepen cooperation, contribute to promoting medical assistance projects and stimulating China-Cameroon friendship,” Guo said.
Besides the free clinic, the Chinese medical team, along with Beijing Urban Construction Group, donated drugs and protective materials to local hospitals.
During his speech at the opening ceremony, Egyptian Foreign Minister and COP27 President Sameh Shoukry stressed the need to confront the negative effects of climate change during the two-week conference, where more than 120 world leaders will seek possible solutions to climate change challenges.
“Climate change threatens human life, and the development pattern in the industrial field which is no longer sustainable must be changed because this will lead to dire consequences,” Shoukry warned.
“We have witnessed during this year painful events in Pakistan, the African continent and various parts of Europe and America. All these events and the destruction and impact represent a lesson to be learned and alarm all over the planet … to more precaution, and to act quickly to take all necessary measures as per our commitments and pledges,” he said.
The COP27 president also underscored the importance of the participation of non-state actors, including the private sector, banks, international finance institutions, civil society, youth associations and indigenous associations, for the sake of an efficient implementation of pledges and commitments.
“Climate change-related efforts over the past decades were remarkably polarized, which has slowed down progress of the negotiations,” Shoukry said, adding the pledge to mobilize 100 billion U.S. dollars per year has not yet been honored.
Meanwhile, Alok Sharma, president of COP26 hosted in Glasgow, Scotland, urged unity to keep the 1.5-degree-Celsius goal within reach, highlighting the important role finance will play in this conference.
“We know that we have reached a point where finance makes or breaks the progress of the program ahead of us,” he noted.
“This summit must be about concrete actions and I hope when the world leaders join us today, they will explain what their countries achieved during the last year and how they will go further,” the British politician said.
