Visit of the Luxembourg Ministry of Environment, Climate and Biodiversity

Mr. Thomas Schoos, Director General for International and General Affairs at the Ministry of the Environment, Climate and Biodiversity (MECB), and Mr. Manuel Tonnar, Director General of LuxDev, visited Rwanda from 4 to 8 December.

The delegation engaged with the Hon. Minister of Environment, Dr, Bernadette Arakwiye, and Director General of the Rwanda Environment Management Authority, Ms. Juliet Kabera, on existing bilateral cooperation and potential new avenues for ecosystemic and science-based collaboration. Luxembourg reaffirmed its support to Rwanda’s ambitious climate action plan.  

The delegation visited the Nduba landfill, where Kigali is turning waste into resources. The visit included a tour of the waste valorization facilities at Nduba, including the Weigh Bridge, the Waste Sorting Facility and the Biowaste Processing Facility, funded by the Ministry of Environment, Climate and Biodiversity and implemented by GGGI from 2021 to 2024. The facilities were inaugurated in 2024 by the former Prime Minister of Luxembourg, Mr. Xavier Bettel, highlighting Luxembourg’s support to waste transformation and circular economy. The visit underscored the facility’s growing potential and the need to strengthen upstream waste collection and sorting and expand business opportunities.

The delegation also visited the Green Gicumbi Project of the Rwanda Green Fund. Thomas Schoos confirmed the allocation of a 4 million EUR contribution to the INTEGO NDC Facility for two projects, namely the greening of 50 TVET schools in Eastern Province and the landscape rehabilitation of communities in 10 sectors in Rulindo District. These commitments were complemented by field visits to Rusiga Secondary School and the Mukarange and Buyanja sites, illustrating the relevance of the planned interventions on water management, erosion control, and community resilience.