ISLAMABAD: Ambassador of Rwanda to Pakistan, Fatou Harerimana on Sunday said that bilateral cooperation between Rwanda and Pakistan in the health sector and public health is inevitable and there is potential on both sides in this sector.
There is a need to further increase the bilateral economic and trade relations between Pakistan and Rwanda, for which the role of the private sector from both sides is very important, the Ambassador said and added that Pakistan and Rwanda enjoy friendly relations underpinned by mutual respect, growing economic ties and cooperation at multilateral fora.
Rwanda and Pakistan, with a longstanding relationship spanning sixty-two years, actively collaborate in various fields, including trade, health, and investment, she remarked.
Pakistan, Rwanda reiterate desire to strengthen ties
She said that Rwanda’s real GDP of Rwanda grew by 9.7% in the first quarter of 2024, exceeding the previous year’s growth rate of 8.2% and the country has shown remarkable resilience, driven by strong consumer spending in key sectors such as services and industry.
The ambassador said that despite ongoing challenges, Rwanda’s labor market experienced a strong recovery, with over half a million new jobs created in the fourth quarter of 2023, marking the most significant reduction in unemployment since the COVID pandemic.
“The labor market expansion in Rwanda was broad-based, with women benefiting slightly more than men and to leverage its youth demographic, Rwanda needs to expand labor force participation, as only 2.8 million out of 8.1 million working age individuals are employed full time.
She said that Rwanda aspires to become a Middle-Income Country by 2035 and a High-Income Country by 2050.
It plans to achieve this through the implementation of the second National Strategies for Transformation (NST-2), a five year-development agenda underpinned by sectoral strategies focused on meeting the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Updating on the economy, she said that Rwanda’s economy continued to stage a strong growth in the first half of 2024 and after growing by an average of 8.2% in 2022-2023, real GDP increased by 9.7% in the first half of 2024. The GDP growth is expected to maintain momentum in 2025–26, with a projected average of 7.7%, to a recovery in global tourism, new construction projects, and manufacturing activities, she added.