Zambia’s Permanent Secretary for Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry, Kayula Siame, has expressed gratitude to the Heads of State for Zambia and Rwanda for their visionary guidance to their countries.
Mrs. Siame said this has necessitated the convening of the 6th Session of the Zambia – Rwanda Joint Permanent Commission (JPC) of Cooperation which will advance the bilateral relations and cooperation even further. She said this at the official opening of the on-going 6th Session of the Zambia-Rwanda Joint Permanent Commission of Cooperation in Kigali, Rwanda.
The Permanent Secretary said the two countries have enjoyed excellent relations as evidenced by the exchange of visits by our two (2) respective Heads of State with H.E. President Kagame undertaking a State Visit to Zambia in June 2017 and H.E. President Edgar Chagwa Lungu undertaking a State Visit to Rwanda, on the 21st and 22nd February 2018.
“Zambia and Rwanda have indeed come a long way from the time our two (2) countries established this Joint Permanent Commission of Cooperation under the General Cooperation Agreement that was signed in 1982. Since then, we have held five (5) Sessions alternately in the two countries with the last one being hosted by Zambia in 2010”, she mentioned.
She further disclosed that the 2010 bilateral session made a number of major decisions regarding cooperation in areas such as exchange of visits and information as well as the identification of seventeen (17) MoUs and Agreements.
The Head of Delegation applauded the Government and people of Rwanda for the positive strides made in economic development especially in areas such as ICT, clean cities, tourism, ease of doing business and global competitiveness.
Speaking at the same forum, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Cooperation and East African Communityof the Republic of Rwanda, Mr.Claude Nikobisanzwe acknowledged and upheld the good relations, friendship and cooperation, which characterized the two sister countries.
Mr. Nikobisanzwe noted that Zambia and Rwanda enjoy excellent and friendly relations, through the representation of Diplomatic Missions in Lusaka and Dar es Salaam respectively, and through the continental and Joint Regional Integration Commitments such as the African Union, Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA).
“Rwanda-Zambia relations are supported and sustained by an established Joint Permanent Commission as a framework of cooperation in various fields, such as Diplomacy, Defense, Justice, Immigration, Trade, Investment, Agriculture, Infrastructure, Local Government, Tourism, Sports and Culture, Justice, Environment, education, ICT and so on”, he reiterated.
Mr. Nikobisanzwe expressed hope that 6th Session of the Zambia – Rwanda Joint Permanent Commission (JPC) of Cooperation meeting would provide a golden opportunity to discuss and set up a mechanism to implement all the decisions, in order to reinforce the already existing of cooperation.
He is also added that the Government of Rwanda is committed to further promote all of these bilateral exchanges and to explore more and new areas of cooperation in order to support our mutual capacity to meet future challenges.
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