"Real milestone": Baerbock travels to Rwanda for opening of Biontech plant
Before her departure, Baerbock praised the inauguration of the vaccine factory in Rwanda as a "real milestone and hope for millions". Vaccines are to be produced here exclusively for the African continent. Baerbock recalled the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, when many people in Africa in particular were "defencelessly at the mercy of the virus" - and the fact that "as an international community, we literally could not deliver".
At the time, "far too few life-saving vaccine doses" arrived where they were urgently needed, criticized the Foreign Minister. The foundation stone for the Biontech production facility in Kigali was laid in June 2022. The German pharmaceutical company delivered mobile laboratory units consisting of converted shipping containers to the African country for the construction.
Demand for coronavirus vaccines has now also fallen sharply in Africa, and there is an oversupply worldwide. According to Biontech, it also wants to use the mRNA technology to develop vaccines for diseases that are particularly prevalent in Africa - such as malaria, tuberculosis and HIV.
Other guests announced for the opening of the Biontech facility include EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the presidents of Rwanda, Senegal and Ghana.
Relations between Germany and Rwanda are close. The German colonial era - Rwanda was part of the colony of German East Africa from 1884 to 1916 - only plays a minor role in relations, according to the Federal Foreign Office. Germany has pledged a total of 93.6 million euros in aid to Rwanda for the period from 2022 to 2024.
Rwanda is politically relatively stable and has gained in importance as an international production location in recent years. Volkswagen has been assembling cars in the country with a population of 13 million since 2018. However, despite strong economic growth and development successes, more than 50 percent of Rwandans continue to live in poverty.
The country is ruled by President Paul Kagame in an authoritarian manner. Rwanda is internationally criticized for a lack of press freedom, suppression of the opposition and manipulation of elections.
Baerbock praised Rwanda's economic development at the start of her trip. The small country is "already often a development model for an entire continent - with strong economic growth, as a pioneer in climate and environmental protection or in the social participation of women", she explained. Baerbock is expected back in Berlin on Tuesday.
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Source: www.stern.de
