KIGALI, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- Rwandan government's Made-in-Rwanda campaign launched in 2015 has had a positive impact on both industrial output and the country's trade balance, Rwandan Minister of Trade and Industry Soraya Hakuziyaremye said Thursday.
Rwanda's total export receipts increased from 559 million U.S. dollars in 2015 to 944 million dollars in 2017 while total imports decreased by 4 percent from 1.849 billion dollars in 2015 to 1.772 billion dollars in 2017, according to statistics from Rwandan ministry of trade revealed at the official launch of the Made-in-Rwanda policy and brand in Rwandan capital city Kigali.
The Made-in-Rwanda policy is designed to help boost local industrial contribution to the economic growth while promoting the brand of the Rwandan locally made products at the global stage, which will reduce the country's burden of relying on imports while promote locally made products from Rwanda, she said.
The policy will, among other things, help entrepreneurs get access to raw materials and markets for their products, according to her.
It is expected to significantly narrow trade deficit by almost 450 million dollars annually in the next seven years, according to the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
