Rwanda has invited India to participate in the economic development of the East African nation through investment in the infrastructure, agriculture, energy, mining, IT and tourism sectors, among others.

“Rwanda invites India to participate in its economic development and to tap the huge potential available in energy, infrastructure, agriculture, tourism, etc,” the Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Minister, Ms Agnes Kalibata, said at the 2nd Rwanda Investment Roadshow in India here today.

Ms Kalibata invited Indian investors to explore the opportunities in her country, which has a population of 10 million and boasts an increasing middle class.

“Rwanda, located at the crossroads of the commercial heartland of East and Central Africa, can provide India huge opportunities to invest in a market of nearly 200 million people (in East and Central Africa) and a combined GDP of over $100 billion,” she added.

The Rwanda Development Board Chief Operating Officer, Ms Claire Akamanzi, said the country is trying to attract foreign investment in infrastructure, especially roads, airports and real estate.

Rwanda’s farm sector, which accounts for 34 per cent of the country’s GDP and sustains 78 per cent of its population, is open to foreign participation in development of the tea, coffee, horticulture and irrigation sectors, Ms Akamanzi added.

Stressing on the largely untapped natural resources of the country, she said Rwanda plans to use them to extend power grid coverage to 67 per cent of the population by 2012 through a $311-million capital expenditure programme.

“We have around 50-55 billion cubic meters of methane gas deposits in the lake Kiev area, which can be harnessed to produce electricity and also have identified 333 potential sites for micro-hydro power projects,” Ms Akmanzi noted.

The tourism sector in Rwanda is booming, but still has significant opportunities for growth, she said, adding that there are also major investment opportunities available in the mining, information and communication and financial services space.

The Rwandan Agriculture Minister said Africa will experience rapid growth in the next two decades and it will be an honour to have India as a part of that experience.

Indian companies like mobile services major Airtel, tea producers Jayshree and Mcleod Russel have already invested in Rwanda.

Rwanda, also termed as the land of a thousand hills, has registered a GDP growth rate of 7.1 per cent since 2004 and has been dubbed the fastest reformer of business regulations globally by the World Bank.

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