Rwanda and Hungary sign agreement on nuclear education

KIGALI, Rwanda

Rwanda is scheduled to select 60 students and send them to Hungary to undergo nuclear education over the next three years under a scholarship agreement signed between the two countries.

The agreement was signed during a state visit of Hungarian President Katalin Novák who began her visit in Rwanda on Friday, she visited a hospital and a school and handed over donations.

She stressed that Hungary wants to contribute to development by asking what is needed.

She noted that Rwanda and Hungary could also set a good example of how to cooperate on the basis of mutual respect, and welcomed the fact that the meeting had resulted in President Kagame’s announcement that Rwanda would open a diplomatic mission in Hungary.

“Hungary is the gateway to the European Union, Rwanda is the gateway to the African continent,” said Hungarian President Katalin Novák on Sunday after talks with President Paul Kagame of Rwanda.

The two countries signed agreements on the extension of the Stipendium Hungaricum Program, on nuclear education in Hungary and Rwanda, and a financing agreement for a U$52 million water sector project under an emergency loan program.

“Hungary contributes to humanitarian programs around the world, and since 2017 we have already provided 300 humanitarian aid projects in 54 countries, worth more than U$100 million,” she said.

“This is my first visit as president to an African country. The reason why I chose Rwanda to be the first country to visit is because I wanted to see how much Rwanda has developed in recent decades,” President Katalina told local journalists.

On Saturday, she attended a European history lesson at the Nyanza Secondary School and visited and tested the hand-washing station set up by the Hungary Helps project.

Meanwhile, on Sunday, President Katalin Novák laid a wreath at the memorial site of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda and met with the Archbishop of Kigali, Cardinal Antoine Kambanda.

On Friday, Katalin Novák laid a wreath at the memorial plaque of Hungarian ecologist and rhinoceros conservationist Krisztián Gyöngyi who lost his life in 2017 after a rhinoceros attack.

The Hungarian leader also visited the neonatal ward of the hospital in Rwamagana district, where she handed over two incubators in cooperation with the Hungarian Interchurch Aid.

Tristan Azbej, the State Secretary responsible for helping persecuted Christians and implementing the Hungary Helps Program, said that Katalin Novák and her delegation will also hand over several material donations, including sports equipment and flashlights.

The latter is important because many families have no electricity in their homes. The President’s donation, the most appreciated by the locals, was two cows, which will help to provide children with healthy milk, he added.

Tristan Azbej also said that the sub-Saharan region of the African continent is becoming increasingly important for the Hungary Helps Program.

He stressed the importance of supporting education and vocational training, so that the rising generations can help to shape their future here on the ground.

In this context, the State Secretary has recently visited Niger and Chad. In Niger, a humanitarian donation was made to a school of the Catholic Church on behalf of the Hungary Helps Program.

Furthermore, consular presence in the region has also been strengthened, and Hungary and Niger has signed a defense cooperation agreement.

In Chad, Hungary is providing 100,000 euros in aid since more than 200,000 refugees are residing in the country who have fled the conflict in Sudan.