Israeli Ambassador to Rwanda, Raphael Morav was previously based in Ethiopia. It is the first time the envoy of Israel gets an office in Kigali over the past 50 years ago.<\/p>\n
The move reflects unwavering diplomatic relationships expected to open doors for cooperation in the development of different including but not limited to agriculture, technology and tourism. <\/p>\n
In an exclusive interview with IGIHE, Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel, Amb. Yuval Rotem said that opening the embassy in Kigali highlights the thirst to scale up relations. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis step mainly focuses on strength and benefits between both countries. I think you will see relationships improving more as both heads of states president Paul Kagame and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu share similar economic and political ambitions,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
Rwanda and Israel share common history as countries which experienced tragic history during the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi and Holocaust targeting Jews in the 2nd World War. From these scars, emerged courage and strength to work hard during the resilience process. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe fact that we were able to overcome hard times, choosing not to sink into sorrow but building strength and self-reliance is shared between both countries. We can root on it to build trust and spread a message of hope to many countries across the globe,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
Rwanda, Israel relations date back in 1962 when the country obtained independence. In 2014, Rwanda became the first African country signing cooperation agreements with Israel and later in 2015 opened embassy headquartered in Tel Aviv.<\/p>\n
Israel worked with Rwanda as a bridge to expand again \u2018our community in Africa\u2019 enabling to open an embassy which had last existed in 1973.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone coming here, investors you see, officials from the ministry always talk about Rwanda differently. It took time but we are going to concert much effort to catch up lost time. Indeed, having an embassy here signifies a lot to this relationship,\u201d he observed. <\/p>\n
The opening of the Israel embassy coincided with the opening of Rwanda – Israel Horticulture Centre of Excellence, based in Mulindi which is expected to help Rwandans widen their knowledge in horticulture.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe centre will promote agriculture in the country,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
Both countries expect to launch cooperation in technology, aligning with the country\u2019s goal to become an innovation hub in the region.<\/p>\n
\u201cTalking on areas of biodiversity, science, innovation and jobs creation, you can\u2019t find good friends beyond Rwanda and Israel. I think we are prepared in this area. When you want to improve the economy, you expand from agriculture projects to technology. And I think we have that in common, \u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The future projects include exchanging flights through national carriers.<\/p>\n
\u201cMeasuring the extent of cooperation is assessing the implementation of direct flights between both countries. I know Rwanda is willing to use RwandAir in Kigali-Tel Aviv flights and will go into effect in the near future,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He explained that such cooperation will boost tourism, trade and joint investment. <\/p>\n