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Rwanda received on Tuesday a €52-million (US $67.7 million) grant from the European Union (EU) to help fund the country's projects aimed at raising standards of living in the rural areas, Finance Minister Donald Kaberuka said on Wednesday.
The grant is in addition to a €124-million ($161.4 million) EU-Rwanda four-year bilateral support programme, from 2003 to 2007.
Kaberuka said the latest funding would also be used to support the national budget and to help revamp the transport sector.
Under rural development, the funds would help Rwanda implement poverty reduction strategies, mainly aimed at modernising the agricultural sector.
Kaberuka said the government hoped that with increased funding, the country would be able to implement its ambitious programme, dubbed "Vision 2020", which is aimed at increasing the GDP per capita to $900 from the present $230; and reducing the number of poor people to 25 percent of the population, from the current 60 percent.
The programme also seeks to increase literacy to 90 percent of the population, up from 48 percent.
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