Musings From Abroad

Rwanda, South Korea reach $1 billion finance agreement

Published

5 months ago

July 7, 2024

The Finance Ministry of Rwanda has revealed that the country has received $1 billion in concessional loans from South Korea to finance various projects in the transportation, healthcare and education sectors.

According to a statement from the finance ministry, the $500 million arrangement for 2024–2028 doubles and takes the place of the previous four-year agreement that was scheduled to expire at the end of 2026.

The government of Rwanda announced in May that 1.32 trillion Rwandan francs ($1.02 billion) or the whole 2024–2025 budget will come from borrowing from outside sources.

Early in June, South Korea hosted a summit that brought together African leaders, including Paul Kagame, the president of Rwanda, and Yoon Suk Yeol, the president of that nation.

The five-year deal, which runs from 2024 to 2028, will correspond with Rwanda’s National Strategy for Transformation, a five-year development initiative.

According to the government, it would fund initiatives in important areas of the Rwandan economy like health care, education, and transportation.

According to Rwanda’s finance minister, Yusuf Murangwa, collaboration between the two countries is in line with the country’s transformation strategy. It is essential to building the country’s human capital for the twenty-first century, revolutionizing the agriculture sector, and laying the groundwork for governance driven by information and communications technology (ICT).

“The framework signed is a significant milestone in our bilateral cooperation and provides assurances to achieve even more results in areas of our engagement,” he said.

Related Topics:Featured Rwanda South Korea

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Musings From Abroad

EU withdraws Niger diplomat after junta accuses it of mismanaging aid

Published

54 minutes ago

November 24, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

The European External Action Service (EEAS) has announced that the European Union would return its ambassador from Niger after the governing military in the nation questioned how an EU team handled humanitarian supplies intended for flood victims.

In a statement released on Friday, the junta in Niger accused the EU ambassador in the West African nation of distributing a 1.3 million euro flood relief grant to many foreign nongovernmental organisations in an opaque way and without working with the government.

Consequently, it mandated an audit of the fund’s administration.

“The European Union expresses its profound disagreement with the allegations and justifications put forward by the transitional authorities,” the EEAS said.

“Consequently, the EU has decided to recall its ambassador from Niamey for consultations in Brussels.”

Niger has been under military rule since the junta seized power in a 2023 coup.

Musings From Abroad

Mpox remains health emergency, WHO insists

Published

2 hours ago

November 24, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has insisted that the Mpox epidemic remains a public health emergency.

WHO first declared an emergency when a new strain of mpox spread from the severely affected Democratic Republic of the Congo to neighbouring countries in August.

The WHO Director-General has decided that the increase in mpox still qualifies as a public health emergency of worldwide significance after the WHO called a meeting of its Emergency Committee and followed its recommendations.

According to WHO, the decision was made in light of the growing number and ongoing geographic dispersion of cases, field operating difficulties, and the requirement to establish and maintain a coordinated response across nations and partners.

Mpox is a virus that is spread by close contact and usually manifests as pus-filled lesions and flu-like symptoms. Although it is typically minor, it can be fatal.

More than 1,000 suspected deaths and more than 46,000 suspected cases have been reported this year throughout Africa, primarily in Congo.

The WHO’s highest level of warning, known as a “public health emergency of international concern,” was previously used to describe a worldwide epidemic of a different type of mpox in 2022–2023.

This year’s notice was issued in response to the transmission of a novel viral variation known as clade Ib. Among other nations, cases of this variation have been verified in the UK, Germany, Sweden, and India.

Following criticism for moving too slowly on vaccinations, WHO approved Bavarian Nordic’s mpox vaccine in September and listed Japan’s KM Biologics vaccine for emergency use earlier this month.