?Rwanda's President Paul Kagame (R) meets with Alibaba Group Director Eric Jing, who is also Chairman and CEO of Alibaba's affiliate Ant Financial Services Group, in Kigali, capital of Rwanda, on Nov. 27, 2019. Rwanda and China's technology giant Alibaba have discussed deepening cooperation on Electronic World Trade Platform (eWTP) and expanding the cooperation to technology sector such as financial technology, Alibaba said Thursday. (Office of the President of Rwanda/Handout via Xinhua)
KIGALI, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- Rwanda and China's technology giant Alibaba have discussed deepening cooperation on Electronic World Trade Platform (eWTP) and expanding the cooperation to technology sector such as financial technology, Alibaba said Thursday.
The discussion was held during a meeting between Rwanda's President Paul Kagame and Alibaba Group Director Eric Jing in Rwandan capital city Kigali on Wednesday, said Alibaba's statement.
Kagame and Jing, who is also Chairman and CEO of Alibaba's affiliate Ant Financial Services Group, agreed that the technology cooperation will be the next priority in their cooperation, said the statement.
Blockchain remittance network, which can ease remittance from overseas to Rwanda, and QR code, a technology that provides convenience to tourists when spending money, could be introduced in the potential technology cooperation, Alibaba said.
Kagame in the meeting also appreciated the existed cooperation with Alibaba.
Rwanda and Alibaba launched the eWTP in October 2018, making the former the first African country to launch the platform. The launching ceremony also saw the signing of MOUs in the areas of e-commerce, tourism, e-payment and capacity building, under the framework of eWTP.
The eWTP was proposed by Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba, in 2016. It aims to set up an open platform for private enterprises and coordination among international organizations, governments and social groups which focus on the development of SMEs as well as trade.
