Delegates from Nigeria ’ s Corporate Affairs Commission tour the Kigali Special Economic Zone
While the demand-driven approach is important to the work of Rwanda Cooperation , the nature of the said mandate gives the institution the ability and agility to proactively establish relations and partnerships with governments , public institutions , and civil society organisations in the global South , as well as with development partners in the global North , creating greater interest in its programmes , expertise , and services . The organisation ’ s ability to proactively initiate and participate in new South-South and triangular cooperation projects allows it to perform an important dual role of meeting the demands of its existing development partners through knowledge cooperation , study visits , and training , while also initiating new projects and partnerships by providing research and advisory support , as well as project implementation services through various areas of expertise .
Rwanda Cooperation is also forging partnerships with academic institutions and think tanks in Rwanda and abroad , especially given the alignment with Rwanda ’ s Economic
Diplomacy ’ s priorities of enhancing the attractiveness of the country ’ s higher education and knowledge sector . Indeed , much of the work of Rwanda Cooperation is rooted in the belief that , through knowledge exchange , Rwanda and partner countries can benefit from each other ’ s knowledge and experiences to support their continued growth and development , which is a key tenet to economic diplomacy .
With the growth of economic diplomacy in the country ’ s foreign policy orientation , Rwanda Cooperation envisions to include offering exchanges and programmes in the area of aid for trade . These exchanges are geared towards finding mutual opportunities to unlock the economic potential in a continent that is set to increase its population to above 2 billion by 2050 and is on the verge of creating the largest free trade area in the world through the AfCFTA . Exchanges can thus also be geared towards sharing how Rwanda has managed to become an increasingly important business and technology hub while also conducting exchanges on trade facilitation to ensure a more open and efficient trading landscape for a landlocked country needing open access to larger markets .
Rwanda ’ s economic diplomacy and SSC strategy both lay a foundation for an outward-looking engagement that brings in Rwanda ’ s diplomatic missions and foreign missions accredited in Rwanda . In aligning these two frameworks , Rwanda will also be in a position to emphasise the importance of triangular cooperation , which should not be seen in isolation , but as part of a wider range of tools that could possibly be deployed in realising various development goals at both the national and international levels . ❧ ❧ ❧
Dr Philani Mthembu is the Executive Director at the Institute for Global Dialogue , an independent foreign policy think tank based in Tshwane ( Pretoria ), South Africa .
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