Cooperation

Cultural action is an important dimension of bilateral cooperation. It is characterized in particular by the reception of Rwandan students in France, for whom the number of grants has doubled, and by French support for multilingualism in Rwanda.

Providing €3.3 million of ODA (official development assistance), France is Rwanda’s eleventh-largest bilateral donor. In the absence of an accredited ambassador to Rwanda, the Agence Française de Développement (AFD, French Development Agency) has reduced its activities since 2015 and several projects are pending, although none has been suspended. In 2011, the AFD granted a credit line of €16.2 million to the Bank of Kigali, which was entirely disbursed, along with an ARIZ guarantee worth €6 million. There was an outstanding total of €8.5 million at the end of 2017. In September 2018, the AFD approved a similar credit line of €17.3 million with an ARIZ guarantee and technical assistance, as well as a grant of €300,000 to develop the bank’s SME portfolio. Lastly, in April 2017, the AFD made a grant of €550,000 to the NGO Frères des Hommes to co-finance a project to build the economic and social capacities of the most vulnerable smallholders’ households in eight sectors of Southern Province.

In addition to AFD activities, France contributes to official development assistance to Rwanda through financial institutions (global funds).