Rwanda signs tourism sponsorship deal with Arsenal

FILE PHOTO: The crest of English Premier League soccer club Arsenal is seen in front of their home ground, the Emirates Stadium, in London April 11, 2011. REUTERS/Chris Helgren

KIGALI (Reuters) - Rwanda has signed a sponsorship and tourism promotion deal with the English soccer club Arsenal, establishing a commercial bond with President Paul Kagame's favourite team, the Rwanda government said on Wednesday.

Tourism is the biggest foreign exchange earner in the East African nation, which is trying to lay to rest memories of a 1994 genocide in which 800,000 Tutsi and moderate Hutus were slaughtered by ethnic Hutu extremists.