特集タイトル

インタビュー

商社に期待すること
駐日ルワンダ共和国特命全権大使

アントワーヌ・ムニャカジ・ジュル
目黒区八雲の閑静な住宅街にあるルワンダ大使館には、とても静かで穏やかな時間が流れていた。2009 年 10 月に東京に着任された、アフリカン・スピリットとエネルギーにあふれるジュル大使に日本とルワンダの関係や将来、さらには商社に期待することなどについてお話を聞いた。

ジュル大使（ルワンダ大使館にて）（インタビュー）1. Introduction
I was appointed as ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo（DRC）in 2004, but I was neverstationed there due to some reasons linked with the regional context at that moment. I remained in
Rwanda in charge of a World Bank Project until I was appointed as ambassador to Japan last year. Iwas appointed as ambassador of Rwanda here, mainly to continue and improve the relationship andcooperation we have with Japan, and especially in the field of business, trade and investment. Now, as a
big improvement, there is the Embassy of Japan in Kigali（Rwanda）, which covers only Rwanda, so ourrelationship will be stronger in the future and I can assure you that Amb.Hatanaka, the Ambassador ofJapan in Rwanda and his team are also fully committed to the strengthening of our relations.
2. Efforts for Improving the Image of Rwanda
The common image of Rwanda for the ordinary Japanese people is the“Genocide”. People here thinkthat we are still in that period of the genocide.
My main objective really is to change that image and to show that Rwanda has emerged from theGenocide and come up to a policy of reconciliation while doing reconstruction work. I can tell you that
we have been quite successful so far. We are really working hard to change that image; I have had many
contacts here in the business community, with students, student's associations and some parliamentarians.
And now we are trying to set up a Parliamentary Association between Japan and Rwanda as a friendshipassociation.
3. Mountain Gorillas and Tourism
Rwanda is one of the few countries in Africa where you can find wild mountain gorillas. They are
fully protected. Rwanda is really one of the most peaceful countries in the African region. The mountaingorillas are like human beings and they prefer to be in a natural and stable environment. An increasing
number of tourists from Japan come to Rwanda to see them.
In Rwanda, people only know about Japan through Japanese products due mainly to high travel
costs. Japanese products in Rwanda have a very high reputation and known for their quality. We haveto increase human contacts between Japan and Rwanda. We are sure that Japan Embassy in Kigali will
facilitate the visas procedures and we are hoping that the number of travelers from Rwanda to Japan will

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also increase in the near future.
4. Future Prospect of Rwanda
The future of Rwanda, in my opinion,
is brilliant. Rwanda is one of the safest
countries in the world. Significant reforms
have been put in place and we are moving
towards a private sector -led economictransformation.
We enjoy a strong leadership with a clear
and ambitious vision for the country. We
have had an average GDP growth of about
ルワンダ大使館でのインタビュー風景
8% from 2002 until 2009. Last year Rwanda
was ranked as the best reformer in the Doing Business Report of the World Bank, but we still have somechallenges.
The first challenge is the trade deficit, which is a very big problem for our economy. We export mainly
coffee, tea, mineral products, handcrafts, flowers, and towards the neighboring regions we export mainly
food and food products especially to the DRC.
The second challenge is that our small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are still few and not very
productive. We have to increase the productivity of our enterprises and that is why we need investmentsfrom Japan, as well as from all the companies worldwide.
The third one is the access to electricity. We have to improve our infrastructures because the access toelectricity and water is still quite low. This is why we need the cooperation and assistance from Japan insuch sectors to improve the coverage in terms of electricity and water.
Another challenge we have is to raise the productivity of our agriculture. Our soil is very fertile so wecan do so and for that we need more technologies and we need to increase the use of fertilizers.
Our economy is mainly based on agriculture, small industries and services. Service sector is reallygrowing, such as tourism, ICT, the financial sector. We do not have big deposits of mineral resources inRwanda. That is why we focus on education, science, technology and educate our people because if we
educate them, they can create jobs. We prefer to have people who can create jobs and not seeking forjobs from the government and that is why a lot of resources are allocated to education.
5. Language and Communication in Japan
Since I arrived here, I received really a very nice welcome from the people of Japan. There is a big
challenge here because many Japanese do not know much about Rwanda and Africa in general and wehave that responsibility to provide all informations needed. The problem we always face is the language.
I think I will try to learn Japanese because that seems the only solution.
But, really, I appreciate to be here. What I want to say about the Japanese people is that you Japanesepeople are really committed, you really know exactly what you want to do and I appreciate that. The
communication in general here is very, very good.
6. Expectations for Japanese Trading Companies
Sometimes, the Japanese business people are still thinking that Africa is too far, too risky and so
are not so much interested about doing business in Africa. That perception is wrong and Africa offers
a lot of opportunities and Japanese private sector can make good business with Africa. Regarding thedevelopment assistance, we think that ODA is good and effective and we are very grateful for what
the Government of Japan is doing but on the long term basis or in the long run, we need more private
investments and partnerships. We can not depend on ODA only but we have to increase our business
relations with Japan. We really hope that Japanese trading companies will play an important role forsustainable development of Africa and particularly in Rwanda where you have a lot of opportunities inagriculture, agribusiness, tourism, ICT, the financial sector. They are the most welcome and we are ready32 日本貿易会 月報

商社に期待すること

to provide them with informations and all incentives offered by our Investment Code. We are also readyto assist them in finding the right partners.
7. Rwanda's Commitment for a Long Term Relationship with JapanWe are really committed to have a long term relationship. In fact, as we are committed to a permanentand stable presence here, we want to buy and own a property in Tokyo, because at this moment we arerenting this place and we want really to establish our embassy on our own premises. We are confident
that we will maintain a long term relationship with Japan. If you are confident, you can invest and we areready to invest here in Japan.

（要約）
ルワンダ共和国の首都はキガリで、アフリカ中央部に位置し、「千の丘の国」と呼ばれるほど自然豊かな山河や湖に囲まれている。
自然豊かで平和なルワンダは世界でも数少ないマウンテンゴリラの生息地としても知られ、観光客も増加している。
1. 大使になった経緯
2004 年にコンゴ民主共和国の大使に任命

マウンテンゴリラの家族

2. ルワンダのイメージされたが、関係悪化で赴任せず、2009 年 7 月

多くの日本のルワンダに関するイメージに日本への駐日大使として任命されるまでは、大虐殺（1994 年）であり、まだルワンは、世界銀行のプロジェクトに携わっていた。

ダは大虐殺の時代にあると誤解している。実

現在、首都キガリには、在ルワンダ日本大使

際のルワンダは、大虐殺の時代から抜け出し館があり、畑中大使は、両国の友好関係を維和解と再建を行い、それが成功している。日持し、貿易やビジネスでの信頼関係構築に努

本では、積極的にビジネス界や、学生、国会力されている。

議員などと会い、ルワンダの紹介や新しいイメージの構築に力を入れている。
3. マウンテンゴリラや観光事業
ルワンダは、自然界のマウンテンゴリラに出会うことのできるアフリカの中でも数少ない国である。また、近隣諸国と比べてもルワンダは平和な国であり、日本からの観光客も年々増加している。キガリに日本大使館ができたことで、将来的にはルワンダから日本へルワンダ地図の旅行者の増加も期待している。

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4. ルワンダの目指す将来像
ルワンダは、素晴らしい可能性を秘めている。
過去の10 年間で、GDP 成長率が平均して8％であり、2009 年は世界銀行のDoing BusinessReportにおいて、Best Reformer（最良の改革推進国）に選ばれた。しかし、依然として貿易赤字であり、中小企業やインフラの整備、農業の生産性向上など、取り組むべき課題は山積している。ルワンダの経済は、圧倒的に農業に支えられているが、今後成長する見込みのある産業としては、サービス、観光、ITなどが挙げられる。また、天然資源を持っていないため、国民の教育には力を入れており、特に、科学技術などの教育に注力することで、国民が政府に雇用を求めるのではなく、彼ら自身が雇用を創出することを期待している。

ルワンダの自然豊かな山もあれ、日本に滞在することを心より喜んでいる。日本人はとても努力家であり目的意識が高いことには感心する。
6. 商社に期待すること
日本のビジネスマンは、アフリカは地理的にも遠くリスクも大きいと考え、あまり興味

5. 日本とルワンダの違いも持っていないようだが、その理解は正しく日本では、ルワンダのみならず、アフリカない。日本企業にとってアフリカには大きな全体に関する認知度が高くなく、アフリカにチャンスがある。ルワンダにとって日本政府関する多くの情報を提供せねばならないと思の ODA はとても有効な施策で感謝しているう。また、言語の壁という大きな問題もあるが、長期的な観点からみると、民間の投資やので、日本語を勉強したいと思っている。と業務提携などのビジネス関係の構築、推進がいっそう重要となる。その分野で、日本の商社が重要な役割を果たしてくれることを大いに期待している。
7. 両国の長期的な関係構築
ルワンダは、日本との恒久的な友好関係の構築を目指しており、その第一歩として、大使館用不動産の購入を検討している。他国に借地ではなく自前の不動産を所有することは、長期友好の意気込みと自信の表れである。
（2010 年 3 月 23 日

ルワンダの紅茶畑

34 日本貿易会 月報

聞き手：広報グループJF齊藤友貴）TC