Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00 [APPLAUSE]
00:08 I'm happy to be with you today for this edition of Rwanda Day
00:14 and to share with you a few highlights on Rwanda's
00:18 foreign policy and recent developments in our region,
00:24 on the continent, and beyond.
00:28 It has been almost 30 years since the 1994 genocide
00:33 against the Tutsi.
00:34 And during the last 30 years, Rwanda
00:37 has strategically positioned itself
00:40 in the world to foster peace, its economic development,
00:44 and security.
00:46 In recent years, Rwanda has increased its diplomatic reach
00:51 and broadened its foreign policy areas.
00:56 And since the last Rwanda Day in October 2019,
01:00 we have opened eight new diplomatic missions
01:04 in four different continents, bringing
01:08 the total number of our diplomatic missions
01:10 abroad to 47.
01:13 For the first time in the history of our country,
01:16 we will have a presence in Latin America
01:19 because we are opening an embassy of Rwanda in Brasilia.
01:24 [APPLAUSE]
01:27 And by the way, the ambassador designated to Brasilia
01:33 might be somewhere in the room.
01:35 So he's part of this gathering.
01:41 During the same period, the diplomatic community in Chigali
01:45 has also been growing.
01:47 And Chigali is hosting more and more foreign missions.
01:52 Today, we have 45 foreign diplomatic missions
01:57 in Rwanda.
01:59 And we have received diplomats from representing
02:04 Mozambique, Pakistan, Denmark, Poland, Hungary, Guinea
02:08 Konakry, Ukraine.
02:11 And Canada has also upgraded its diplomatic mission
02:15 to a high commission.
02:17 [APPLAUSE]
02:21 New embassies Rwanda opened abroad,
02:25 apart from the one in Brasilia I already mentioned.
02:29 We have an embassy in Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia,
02:33 Guinea Konakry, Hungary.
02:36 We have a diplomatic mission in the Central African Republic.
02:39 And we have also an embassy in the Czech Republic.
02:44 Rwanda is also increasingly becoming
02:46 the home of various international organizations,
02:49 such as the African Medicines Agency,
02:52 the Fund for Export Development in Africa,
02:55 the FIFA Regional Development Office,
02:57 and the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation headquarters
03:02 for the Africa region, just to name a few.
03:06 To attain our objectives for transformation,
03:09 Rwanda fosters strategic partnerships
03:12 in various sectors.
03:14 That is how, in the health sector,
03:16 we have entered in an innovative partnership
03:20 with a German technology firm, BioNTech,
03:23 to start manufacturing mRNA-based products
03:28 and vaccines in Rwanda.
03:31 Our ambition is to address the gap in the production
03:34 of lifesaving vaccines in Africa by locally producing them
03:39 to serve both our needs and regional markets.
03:44 Another partnership which has been in the media
03:48 in the last few months is the Migration and Economic
03:53 Development Partnership Rwanda entered into with the UK.
04:00 Rwanda has entered that bold economic development
04:03 and migration partnership to address the root
04:07 causes of the migration crisis by tackling
04:11 the global inequalities and opportunities
04:14 that drive economic migrants from their homes.
04:20 So Rwanda, by entering in this partnership,
04:25 is playing a role in addressing global issues,
04:28 such as the migration crisis.
04:32 The Migration and Economic Development Partnership
04:35 will invest in Rwanda's economic development,
04:38 providing opportunities for migrants and Rwandans alike.
04:42 In this initiative, we play a crucial role
04:46 in combating human trafficking networks associated
04:50 with illegal migration.
04:54 And beyond this partnership, Rwanda
04:56 continues to work with the African Union and the NHCR
05:00 to welcome refugees, notably through the emergency transit
05:04 mechanism, which provides temporary refuge for migrants
05:09 coming from Libya before their relocation.
05:14 And between September 2019 and December 2023,
05:19 we have received over 2,000 refugees and asylum seekers who
05:25 were evacuated from Libya.
05:28 And over 1,200 refugees among these
05:33 have subsequently been resettled to third countries.
05:38 At the continental level, Rwanda has worked with other nations
05:43 to launch the Africa Continental Free Trade Area
05:46 Agreement, which was signed in Chigiri in 2018.
05:51 And it is the largest continental free trade
05:54 area in the world and has the potential
05:56 to create wealth for all Africans.
06:01 But as you know, prosperity cannot exist without peace.
06:07 And this is why Rwanda has remained
06:10 engaged in military peacekeeping missions throughout Africa
06:16 under the United Nations banner.
06:19 With almost 6,000 peacekeepers, Rwanda
06:23 is the fourth largest contributor of peacekeepers
06:27 in the world.
06:28 [APPLAUSE]
06:34 And beyond peacekeeping, Rwanda provides support
06:37 under bilateral arrangement to countries
06:41 such as Central African Republic.
06:45 And we also support government of Mozambique
06:47 to fight terrorism.
06:49 Since our first deployments in those countries,
06:52 the situation has greatly improved,
06:56 contributing to the larger stability of our continent.
07:00 [APPLAUSE]
07:05 Rwanda is also an active member of the East African community
07:10 and of the economic community of Central African states, which
07:14 count 11 member states, while the East African community
07:19 today is comprised of eight countries
07:22 and home to 283 million citizens.
07:29 Coming to the situation in our own region, the Great Lakes
07:37 region, you are aware that the security situation
07:41 has remained volatile in the last couple of years,
07:45 particularly since the resurgence of M23
07:49 towards the end of 2021.
07:53 This resurgence was a consequence
07:56 of the non-implementation of previously signed
07:59 political agreements and the persistence of armed groups
08:04 in eastern DRC, including the genocidal FDLR, which constitutes
08:11 a security threat to Rwanda.
08:15 Recently, this conflict has attracted
08:18 new regional actors, small and big,
08:22 complicating further this crisis.
08:26 Increasing hate speech and targeted killings
08:29 against the Yoruba-speaking Congolese, many of whom
08:34 are of great concern.
08:36 And this has led to Rwanda receiving more than 100,000
08:42 Congolese refugees.
08:44 Some of them have been in Rwanda for more than 22 years now.
08:51 And there are even more in neighboring countries,
08:55 such as Uganda and Kenya.
08:59 While regional mechanisms, such as the Nairobi and the Rwanda
09:02 processes, have been established to resolve this conflict,
09:07 the lack of political will has frustrated the implementation
09:12 and the achievement of peace.
09:15 International partners, including the US,
09:19 have also been actively involved in efforts
09:23 to discredit tensions between Rwanda and DRC
09:26 and find solutions to the conflict.
09:30 While Rwanda is committed to peace
09:33 and believes that a political solution is better
09:37 and catered to solve the political problems
09:40 in our region, appropriate defensive measures
09:46 are in place to protect our territory.
09:50 And no one should be worried about the security of Rwanda.
09:55 [APPLAUSE]
09:58 Coming to this part of the world to conclude,
10:05 Rwanda and the United States enjoy good relations.
10:09 The US is a valued partner in our development
10:13 and is active in many sectors, including health, space, trade
10:19 and investment.
10:20 And we hope to increase our economic ties in the future.
10:25 Rwanda is a land of opportunities,
10:29 open for business, and ready for American investments.
10:35 Let me stop here my introduction.
10:38 And I look forward to exchanging with you
10:40 and eventually providing more details on elements
10:45 I shared in these introductory remarks.
10:48 I thank you for your kind attention.