Blair helps Rwanda build economy

Tony Blair said it was 'a privilege' to help the country

Tony Blair has agreed to help Rwanda attract private investment as it seeks to build its economy.

He has made his first visit to the central African country since offering himself as an unpaid adviser to its president, Paul Kagame.

Mr Blair will now use his international status to promote the opportunities on offer there to foreign investors.

Rwanda is trying to recover from the 1994 genocide, when some 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed.

Mr Blair told a press conference in the Rwandan capital, Kigali, that it was an "exciting" time to be engaged with the country's development.

'Clear vision'

"I think the fascinating thing about Rwanda is that it's a country that has gone through a terrible and traumatic experience, but has rebuilt itself," he said.

"It stands now in a situation where people want to take it to a new and higher level of development."

He added: "The question is how do we build the capability to make that happen, because the vision is one thing and to make it happen is another.

"The vision is clear and good, but it's doing it - and doing it as we all know is the hard thing. Any help that I can give in that is a privilege."

The 1994 genocide only stopped when the Hutu extremist government was overthrown by Mr Kagame, then a guerrilla leader, and his forces.

Mr Blair has held a number of meetings with the Rwandan president since he left Number 10 last June. The pair are said to be long-standing friends.