KIGALI, Aug.20 (Xinhua) -- Rwanda and Italy on Monday signed an air service agreement, granting both countries' airlines rights to fly in either territory without restriction.

The agreement was signed in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, by Rwanda's Minister of Infrastructure Claver Gatete and Italy's Ambassador to Uganda Domenico Fornara, who also oversees Rwanda and Burundi.

In a statement, the ministry said the agreement grants both parties the rights to fly across its territory without landing as well as to make stops for non-traffic purposes.

Under the agreement, making stops for non-traffic purposes means Rwanda's national carrier Rwandair can land at Italian airports to fuel, for maintenance or other technical purposes without picking up passengers or cargo.

Yvonne Makolo, the chief executive officer of Rwandair, said the agreement also confers rights for airlines of both countries to transport passengers and cargo.

On his part, Ambassador Fornara told the media that the agreement forms a legal framework that facilitates technical cooperation in various aspects.

Rwandair operates routes to Europe with flights from Kigali to London and Kigali to Brussels.

According to the ministry of infrastructure, the number of passengers travelling with Rwandair are expected to surpass 1 million this fiscal year, a target that would involve launching new flight destinations.

Rwandair plans to launch new destinations this fiscal year, which ends next June, to Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, Guangzhou in China, Tel Aviv in Israel, and to Guinea and New York, bringing the number of destinations from the current 26 to 31.