India and Rwanda review bilateral ties, sign 8 MoUs

India and Rwanda reviewed their entire gamut of bilateral ties and signed eight agreements across different sectors during the course of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's two-day visit to the East African nation, the External Affairs Ministry said on Tuesday.

"During the talks, both leaders reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral cooperation and expressed satisfaction at the excellent relations between Rwanda and India in the overall context of Strategic Partnership," the ministry said in a statement following delegationlevel talks chaired by Modi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame in Kigali on Monday.

Ties between India and Rwanda were elevated to that of a Strategic Partnerhsip in January last year.

According to the statement, Modi highlighted the fact that Rwanda would house the first of the 18 new resident Indian missions to be opened in Africa in 2018 and this underlined the importance attached by India to its relations with Rwanda.

Stating that India and Rwanda were looking forward to further elevate their ties, Modi, while addressing the media with Kagame following Monday's talks, said: "This (opening the new mission) will not only facilitate close communication among our governments, it will also help in consular, passport, visa and other facilities."

Agreements in the area of trade, defence, dairy cooperation, agriculture, culture, leather and allied sectors and two lines of credit worth $200 million for expansion of the special economic zone and irrigation scheme were signed.