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Rwanda - US Relations

U.S. Government interests have shifted significantly since the 1994 genocide, from strictly humanitarian concern focused on stability and security to strong partnership with the Government of Rwanda focused on sustainable development. The three largest U.S. Government assistance programs are the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the Feed the Future food-security initiative, and the President's Malaria Initiative, which aim to reduce the impact of two of the most prevalent debilitating diseases, and to reduce poverty and household food insecurity through improved agriculture and income opportunities. In partnership with the Government of Rwanda, U.S. Government (USG) agencies--U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), State Department, Peace Corps, and Department of Defense--work to strengthen Rwandan institutions and build local capacity.

USG programming plays a major role in helping Rwanda to improve the health and income opportunities of its people as well as the capacity of its institutions and systems to promote sustainable development. To achieve these ends, USAID activities focus on:

• Prevention, treatment, and care of HIV/AIDS;
• Reducing mortality and morbidity due to malaria;
• Promoting rural economic growth through agriculture-sector policy reform; increased production of staple crops, high-value crops for export, and dairy; and eco-tourism;
• Increasing rural household income through more efficient agricultural techniques, income diversification, and increased access to credit for small producers;
• Increasing access to, and use of, voluntary family planning methods;
• Improving maternal and child health;
• Reducing post-harvest losses of agriculture produce through improved handling and storage technologies;
• Increasing literacy and numeracy through improved quality of primary education;
• Encouraging participatory governance and decentralization; and
• Promoting a democratic Rwanda, where the government respects human rights, civil liberties, and the rule of law.

The State Department’s Public Affairs section (PAS) maintains an Information Resource Center (IRC) in Kigali, which offers public access to English-language publications, an English language lab for those preparing for English language exams, information on the United States, and information on studying in the United States. PAS closed the American Corner at the National University of Rwanda (NUR) in Huye (formerly Butare) in 2011, but will open a new American Corner in 2012 at the Rwanda Tourism University College (RTUC) in Rubavu (formerly Gisenyi). PAS also supports an English Language Resource Center at the Catholic Institute of Kabgayi (ICK) in Gitarama.

American business interests have been small; currently, private U.S. investment is limited to the tea industry, energy, mining, franchising (FedEx, Coca-Cola, Western Union, and Moneygram), and small holdings in service and manufacturing concerns. Annual U.S. exports to Rwanda, under $10 million annually from 1990-93, exceeded $40 million in 1994 and 1995. Although exports decreased in the years immediately after the genocide, in 2010 they were estimated at approximately $31 million out of a total bilateral trade of $37 million.