The trade fair which resumed this year is taking place from 11th to 15th January 2022 in Utrecht City.
Rwanda is represented by different institutions including Rwanda Development Board (RDB) and RwandAir as well as tour operators namely; Mist Rwanda Safaris, Kingfisher Journeys, Judith Safaris and Silverbird Tours.
The first day of the exhibition was dedicated for Business to Business interactions where travel professionals came together for networking, inspiration and information on the latest trends and developments in travel and to do business as well.
From Thursday 11th to 15th January, participants including Rwandan companies will have opportunities to bring their brand to limelight.
Vakantiebeurs is an annual travel event in the Netherlands that serves as a platform bringing together locals, travel providers, travel professionals, destinations and consumers all under one roof.
Rwanda is among 94 countries participating this year. Over 100,000 visitors and 12,000 professional travelers are expected to participate in the trade fair which brought together more than 1000 exhibitors.
On the first day of the exhibition, IGIHE spoke with Rwanda’s Ambassador to the Netherlands, Olivier Nduhungirehe who shed light on the significance of Rwanda’s participation.
“Rwanda started attending the fair in 2011. It is important for the country to showcase tourism offerings in this internationally known trade fair which brought together representatives from 94 countries this year.
“Rwanda as a country that is promoting itself as a touristic destination is attending this trade fair to promote our attractions. We have several attractions including volcanoes, gorillas, Nyungwe National Park with its primates, Akagera National Park and many more. We have seen in the past years how revenues have been increasing steadily except the Covid-19 period where we experienced a drop,” he said.
“This is an opportunity for Rwanda to continue showcasing our tourism. We are here with the Rwanda Development Board which is in charge of tourism and a number of tour operators working in the touristic sector to explain what we offer so that they can visit Rwanda,” added Nduhungirehe.
Philbert Ndandali, Emerging Tourism Analyst and Tourism Promotion at RDB who attended the exhibition told IGIHE that it is a good platform to create linkages between tour operators and lure tourists into Rwanda.
He disclosed that the trade fair will help the country to enhance speedy recovery of the tourism sector in the post Covid-19 period.
On Thursday 12th January 2022, Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu who is on a visit to Rwanda held talks with his counterpart , Dr. Vincent Biruta.
Çavuşoğlu participated in the talks after visiting Kigali Genocide Memorial located in Gisozi where over 250,000 victims of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi are laid to rest.
Minister Biruta said that both countries enjoy fruitful cooperation through the signed agreements.
He disclosed that both countries have already signed 21 agreements as at today morning in different areas including trade, investment, security, defence, education, visa exemption, culture and diplomacy.
Dr. Biruta commended Türkiye for continuous support to Rwanda where it has 250 students studying in the country of whom 81 benefit from Turkish scholarship.
He also appreciated the booming bilateral trade volume which increased nearly fivefold from US$31 million in 2019 to US$178 million in 2022.
Today, Rwanda registers Turkish investments worth over US$500 million in the fields of industry, construction and hospitality among others.
Some of mega projects executed by Turkish firms include the construction of Kigali Convention Centre, BK Arena and the ongoing renovation of Amahoro Stadium.
Minister Biruta said that both countries have committed to strengthen cooperation and signed three new agreements in General Cooperation, Science, Technology and Innovation as well as Culture.
On his part, Minister Çavuşoğlu commended Rwanda’s development pace despite its dark history which he was taken through during his visit to Kigali Genocide Memorial.
He highlighted that he held productive discussions with his counterpart of Rwanda on many issues of bilateral relations engagements in the economy, investment, energy, defence, culture and education.
“With the general cooperation we have just signed, we will form a joint permanent commission which will be another mechanism where the two countries can assess all aspects of engagement,” he said.
Rwanda and Türkiye enjoy vibrant relations and are connected through daily flights operated by Turkish Airlines.
The incident happened in the evening of Wednesday 11th January 2022 as the woman went to open a gate for her husband to move his car to the parking.
The executive secretary of Nyamabuye Sector, Jean Claude Nshimiyimana has said that the husband was returning home along with his wife who stepped out of the car to open the gate.
As the husband drove the car in a reversal gear, he experienced brake failure and hit the gate’s pillars made of bricks which collapsed on Ishimwe.
Nshimiyimana has disclosed that the woman was rushed to Kabgayi Hospital but died along the way.
Rwanda has been expressing concerns over the FDLR terrorist group formed by individuals responsible for the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi that continues to spread genocide ideology and threaten security in the region.
Rwanda maintains that it can’t engage in talks with the terrorist group but established an arrangement for reintegration of its combatants repatriating voluntarily while those who committed crimes are brought before courts.
Since M23 rebel group resumed fighting with Congolese Army (FARDC) towards the end of 2021 over DRC’s failure to implement peace accords signed in 2013, the country formed a coalition with FDLR.
Last year, the coalition of FARDC and FDLR shelled Rwandan territory at different times, destroyed properties and injured people in Musanze District as revenge to Rwanda which is accused of supporting M23.
However, Rwanda has repeatedly denied the allegations and urged DRC to solve internal problems without dragging it into its mess.
Despite the situation, DR Congo continues to sanitize FDLR calling its members ‘ordinary refugees’ that need talks with Rwanda to return home.
During a press conference held on Wednesday 11th January 2023, Congolese Minister of Higher Education, Muhindo Nzangi Butondo said that the country would have no problems, had Rwanda engaged in negotiations with FDLR.
He was alluding to the speech of President Paul Kagame delivered this week at the parliamentary building highlighting that DRC did not show willingness to bring back its citizens who fled to Rwanda more than 20 years ago.
Muhindo said that Rwanda should not talk about Congolese refugees without holding talks with FDLR.
“He has no power to talk about the issue of refugees because he refused to engage in talks with brothers from FDLR who have been in the Democratic Republic of Congo for many years. We would not be having problems in eastern DRC, had he agreed to initiate negotiations with them, ” he said.
DRC has taken a stand to advocate for and sanitize FDLR yet the international community has labeled it as a terrorist group.
The latest report by the United Nations (UN) Expert Group provided evidences of the collaboration between FARDC and FDLR and demanded the country to stop.
The alarm was also raised by other blocs including the European Union to find a way for peace in eastern DRC.
During an interview with France 24 in September 2022, Felix Tshisekedi also said that FDLR that does not pose security threat.
He explained that it is comprised of members ‘with no political ambitions to overthrow Kigali’s leadership. In brief, what Rwanda says is a lie’.
Speaking to BBC recently, the Spokesperson of FDLR, Cure Ngoma refuted Tshisekedi’s utterance that the group is made up of thieves struggling for survival.
“We are existent. Those making the statements have their own reasons. We would not be participating in this conversation if we do not exist. Our soldiers are strong,” he said.
UN experts indicate that FARDC provided weapons to FDLR and allies with it on battlefield, a situation termed as the violation of international laws.
The Heads of State’s summit held in Luanda, Angola in November 2022 resolved that M23 should withdraw from occupied territories within 48 hours and ordered armed groups including FDLR-FOCA, RED Tabara and ADF among others to lay arms down and respect the process to bring them back to countries of origin.
DRC has done nothing to disarm them but continues to work with FDLR and advocate for it.
Rwanda and Portugal enjoy existing diplomatic relations dating back to 12th February 1976.
At the time, António Baptista Martins became the first Portuguese Ambassador in Rwanda with residence in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
He assumed the duties on 25th January 1997. Today, the country’s interests in Rwanda are overseen by Helena Malcata who presented credentials to President Paul Kagame on 22nd February 2019.
Amb. Nkurikiyimfura has been serving as Rwanda’s Ambassador to France since July 2022.
A Rwandan seeking to travel to Portugal is required to apply for Schengen visa. A round trip to the country with KLM aircraft costs US$825.
At least 920 pellets were seized from two people on Tuesday, January 10, who were traveling on a motorcycle, in Bugesera District, Ntarama Sector in Kanzenze Cell.
Superintendent of Police (SP) Hamdun Twizeyimana, the Police spokesperson for the Eastern region, said that the two suspects were intercepted at about 9:30p.m. by the Police on night patrol.
“When they saw the Police, they abandoned the motorcycle and a bag containing 920 rolls of cannabis, and fled,” said SP Twizeyimana.
The motorcycle registration number RD 355D, used in the crime, was also impounded to Nyamata Police station as the search for the suspects continues.
In Kicukiro District, one Adam Habineza, 42, was arrested by the Anti-Narcotics Unit (ANU) in Nyenyeri Village, Bwerankori Cell in Kigarama Sector with 375 rolls of cannabis.
“Habineza is a suspected distributor and retailer of narcotic drugs in Kigali. At the time, he had already sold part of the narcotics for Rwf300,000, which was recovered from him during the operation,” Chief Inspector of Police (CIP) Sylvestre Twajamahoro, the Police spokesperson for the City of Kigali, said.
The search for his accomplices is still underway.
Habineza disclosed that he is supplied by other drug dealers in Rubavu District before trafficking them to Kigali.
He was handed over to RIB at Gikondo station for further investigations.
It is not the first time that Habineza is arrested in drug related crimes. He was arrested for the same crimes in 2019.
The 46.5-nanometer extreme-ultraviolet imager or Solar Upper Transition Region Imager (SUTRI), mounted on SATech-01 satellite, was launched into space on July 27, 2022, from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China by a Lijian-1 carrier rocket.
SUTRI is the first solar imager in the world to work at a wavelength of 40 to 110 nanometers based on a multilayer narrow-band filtering technique, according to the National Astronomical Observatories of China under the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
The device is capable of taking full-disk dynamic pictures of solar regions between the solar chromosphere and corona, thus building a key bridge for solar scientists for the lower atmosphere and higher one on the sun.
Starting operation on Aug. 30, 2022, SUTRI obtained over 200,000 pictures within four months. The data released in its first group were acquired between September 5 to November 5 last year.
Now, the device in orbit is in good working order and is expected to produce more data.
A total of 696 inmates had their prison terms reduced, 10 were granted freedom and one had a death sentence lowered to a life sentence, according to the ministry statement.
The others who are not currently jailed had their prison terms or fines or both annulled.
The Proclamation of Independence Day is celebrated on Jan. 11 every year to commemorate Morocco’s proclamation of independence on Jan. 11, 1944.
“We were not imposing any restrictions or travel requirements for China, the United States or any country with rising infections,” said Phaahla when briefing the media virtually about COVID-19.
A patient with the XBB.1.5 variant was discovered on Dec. 27 during a random sampling and further details remain unknown, he said.
The minister said they have engaged scientists, the World Health Organization and the ministerial advisory committee, who suggested that there is no need to impose travel restrictions internally or for any country.
“We were advised to increase surveillance and vaccination. We will do wastewater testing on aircraft from China, the United States or any country with rising infections to check for the virus. We will step up our communication and messaging for people to get vaccinated or a booster,” he said.
Michelle Groome, an official at the National Institute for Communicable Diseases, said wastewater testing on aircraft will start next week as part of the surveillance.
Spreading genocide ideology as a terrorist group that was formed by individuals responsible for the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi is among concerns given much attention when people talk about FDLR. However, the source of funding is not given the attention it deserves yet it is the backbone helping the group to continue terrorist activities that affect DRC citizens and pose threat to Rwanda’s security.
Various non-governmental organizations operating in DRC indicate that FDLR is involved in large scale trade in collaboration with members of Congolese Army, police force and politicians. Below are highlights of major activities serving as the source of revenues for FDLR to sustain terrorist activities and some recommendations to defeat the group.
{{Trade of charcoal }}
Pole Institute, a non-governmental organization operating in DRC, recently released a report pointing out sources of funding for armed groups in the country.
The report was released in April 2022 but there are no evidences that the armed group has stopped its businesses. The report shows that DRC is home to a large number of armed groups where 72 of 132 registered in 2017 were based in Northern Kivu Province.
It further reads that charcoal produced in Virunga National Park makes up the largest portion of FDLR’s source of revenues after losing mines controlled in Walikale and Masisi following the pressure of FARDC and Mai Mai armed group.
The report highlights that FDLR has strongholds in Rutshuru territory and Nyiragongo in protected areas of Virunga National Park. It also has bases in Bwito, Binza, Bukoma and Busanza. FDLR takes advantage of these forests and makes charcoal traded in Goma.
Emmanuel de Merode, the director of the Congolese Institute for the Conservation of Nature (ICCN) which manages Virunga National Park in DRC, confirmed that FDLR benefits from illegal activities in the park including fishery and the production of charcoal.
He highlighted that FDLR reaps a handsome amount of money from sales of charcoal in Goma town populated by more than 1 million of whom 97% have no access to electricity. Merode disclosed that FDLR shares a portion of its profit with other armed groups including Mai Mai and FARDC soldiers.
It is said that Goma uses at least 150,000 tonnes of charcoal per year even though there are other reports estimating the quantity to be between 60,000 and 90,000 tonnes.
Of the charcoal, 95% is reported to be produced from Virunga National Park in the areas controlled by FDLR including Nyamulagira, Kahunga and Nyamitwitwi.
It is important to note that FDLR combatants do not transport the charcoal themselves. They have created a large network involving many people who benefit from the business.
The network is comprised of FDLR combatants, DRC soldiers and police personnel, transporters and retailers among others.
The report published by Pole Institute indicates that the trade of charcoal can generate up to US$45,000,000.
Overall, the report shows, FDLR and business partners receive at least US$20,000,000. This means, US$11,671,809.4 goes to FDLR and US$8,215,157.2 to business representatives.
{{Taxation}}
FDLR has expended much effort in tax collection from residents in controlled areas.
A big portion of the revenues is generated from agriculture and transport. The report published by Pole Insitute indicates that FDLR charges rental fees or taxes so that residents can be allowed to exploit productive farmlands.
The revelations were also confirmed by FDLR combatants captured recently during fighting between M23 and FARDC in collaboration with armed groups including FDLR.
Warrant Officer Innocent Uwamungu is among FDLR combatants captured during a recent fighting that took place in Rutare, near Paris, on the way to Tongo.
Warrant Officer Uwamungu worked in the secretariat of General Pacifique Ntawunguka alias Omega, who took over as the commander of the military wing (FDLR-FOCA) after the assassination of Sylvestre Mudacumura.
Uwamungu said that FDLR depends on agriculture and collection of taxes to buy ammunition and medicines.
Among the people captured together with the FDLR was Pastor Niyonzima Jean Damascene, who said he provided the FDLR with intelligence information.
He was born in the former Commune Kinyami in Byumba Prefecture and left in 1994.
Niyonzima said that he was the ’Assistant Bourgmestre’ before leaving the country.
He also confirmed that FDLR secures funding from taxes and selling part of produce collected from farmers during harvesting time.
Residents in areas controlled by FDLR can be taxed between US$0.30 and US$5.
As for leaders and magnates, the report says, they pay huge amounts to FDLR to make sure their security is guaranteed.
Among others, the report shows that a politician running for electoral campaigns or following up other businesses can be charged up to US$2500 so that FDLR can provide safe passage for vehicles through Virunga National Park in Kalengera, in Bwisha or Tongo in Bwito.
It reveals that whoever disobeys the protocol, might be ambushed and eventually risk his/her life.
The report of experts on Congo emphasizes that soldiers and the government left taxes administration in the hands of FDLR, which shows that the country is not ready to take responsibility to protect citizens.
{{Transport}}
Apart from taxes, the terrorist group also works with commercial motorcyclists and truck drivers.
In Rutshuru, FDLR fixed taxes on transportation of goods transiting through controlled area.
The report released by the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) in 2014, indicated that a driver can pay between US$25 to US$300 depending on the type of luggage.
The report by Pole Institute confirmed that FDLR has its own Fuso trucks that carry bags of charcoal and commercial motorcycles for transportation of passengers.
The group hires Congolese to drive the vehicles and motorcycles but those who violate terms and conditions are killed.
{{Other sources of income }}
FDLR is also reported to be involved in the extraction and trade of minerals in Lubero as confirmed by MONUSCO.
MONUSCO’s report indicates that FDLR also sells timber, hemp and fishes. When combined with illegal taxation, the total revenue from these sectors at least amount to over US$71 million per annum (over Rwf76 billion). This is where FDLR secures funding to sustain its terrorist activities.
{{Defeating FDLR}}
Experts reveal that the genocide ideology propagated by FDLR is of serious concern to Rwanda’s security and the entire region. Else, allowing the group to run businesses in an open air capacitates it to buy weapons and recruit more fighters.
The report of Pole Institute provides different recommendations to defeat FDLR where it stressed the need to increase police and military personnel in eastern DRC and block all its sources of revenues.
Meanwhile, the group of experts on Congo urges the country to stop supporting and working with armed groups including FDLR.
