Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Honourable Ministers, the Chief of Defence Staff, Service Chiefs, Excellencies, Ambassadors
00:11and High Commissioners, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Rwanda, Commandant of
00:17the RDF Command and Staff College, General Officers and Senior Officers, Distinguished
00:25Guests, it is my honour to preside over the closing ceremony of yet another successful
00:33National Security Symposium under the theme Contemporary Security Challenges, the African
00:40Perspective. Let me start by thanking all the speakers and participants for honouring
00:48this event with their presence and for actively participating in the different sessions. I
00:55would like to also commend the Rwanda Defence Force, the University of Rwanda and the Rwanda
01:02Convention Bureau for the planning and execution of this symposium. We are appreciative of
01:10your efforts to organise this enriching conference. Distinguished participants, engaging in an
01:19exercise of this nature is vital to contributing to solutions to our common threats. These
01:27discussions allow us to harness our strengths and pull together our efforts in addressing
01:34these challenges. In addition, the different backgrounds of panellists and participants
01:41in this symposium reflect our strong engagement to tackle security challenges and ensuring
01:49the safety for our populations. It is my hope that our diverse perspectives will inform
01:57our course of action to find practical and sustainable solutions to the issues at hand.
02:06Transforming ideas into actions is always the biggest challenge we face. There are no
02:12miracle drugs to a given crisis or problem. Rather, we must adopt a multidimensional and
02:21holistic approach at solving them, focusing on addressing the root causes before the consequences.
02:29It is my conviction that this symposium has addressed a good portion of the security challenges
02:37affecting our times and our continent in particular. There is also no doubt that we have extracted
02:45valuable lessons that will guide our various actions in our various responsibilities.
02:53Allow me to highlight a few key takeaways of this symposium. We have noted that the
02:59world is becoming increasingly divided, yet security challenges we face know no boundaries.
03:08We have also noted that there is a need to collectively redefine our aspirations and
03:14approaches, otherwise we are likely to create a future that supports our assumptions and biases.
03:23Last but not least, as a people, we need to identify and focus on the essentials – security,
03:31dignity and opportunity for all. I thank you for the wake-up call. And as I close, allow
03:41me also to thank once again the leadership of the RDF and the University of Rwanda for
03:49organising this important event. You have truly opened up a debate that I hope will
03:55feed into our individual and collective reflection. I thank you for your kind attention, and I
04:02wish you all a safe journey to your respective destinations, and hereby declare this symposium closed.