Rwanda of 1884 assigned the territory to Germany as part of German East Africa, marking the beginning of the colonial era. The explorer Gustav Adolf von Götzen was the first European to significantly explore the country in 1894; he crossed from the south-east to Lake Kivu and met the king. The Germans did not significantly alter the social structure of the country, but exerted influence by supporting the king and the existing hierarchy and delegating power to local chiefs. Belgian forces took control of Rwanda and Burundi in 1916, during World War I, beginning a period of more direct colonial rule.
Vision 2020 (Rwanda) Vision 2020 (Rwanda) Vision 2020 is a government development program in Rwanda, launched in 2000 by Rwandan president Paul Kagame. Its main objective is transforming the country into a knowledge-based middle-income country, thereby reducing poverty, health problems and making the nation united and democratic. The programme consists of a list of goals which the government aims to achieve before the year 2020. These are: In the late 1990s, president Paul Kagame and his government began actively planning methods to achieve national development. He launched a national consultation process and also sought the advice of experts from emerging nations including China,