Hungary will launch a 52 million US dollar tied aid loan in Rwanda, the largest such scheme undertaken by Hungary in Africa so far, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said in Kigali.
Szijjártó, who is the first Hungarian foreign minister to make an official visit to Rwanda, told a joint press conference with Rwandan counterpart Vincent Biruta that the tied aid loan will be used to develop the country’s water management facilities with the involvement of Hungarian businesses. The project will involve the renovation and expansion of Kigali’s water purification plant, with Hungarian companies providing the technical supervision of the installation of Hungarian-made technologies, the minister said. The plant’s daily capacity will be increased to 36,000 cubic metres from 15,000 cubic metres, together with a 6km pipeline network, Szijjártó said. The project represents a new opportunity for the use of Hungarian technologies in one of Africa’s fastest growing markets, and will help improve local living conditions, he added.
Meanwhile, Szijjártó said that in response to a request from the Rwandan government, Hungary is donating 300,000 coronavirus vaccine doses to the country, 200,000 doses of which are the AstraZeneca jab and 100,000 China’s Sinopharm.