President Paul Kagame who is on state visit to USA has applauded management of the Carnegie Mellon University for partnership with his government to state a new campus calling it “A sign of friendship that was initiated a few years ago”.
The Head of State made the remarks August 16 at the university campus where he was hosted by the university president Dr. Jared L. Cohon together with the Board of trustees.
“I do believe this is evidence of a changing tide in global partnership- one that I am happy to personally associate with.
“We know that despite decades of partnerships between developed and developing nations, the world remains largely imbalanced in terms of social and economic progress” the president said
He further pointed out that on one hand, some nations have overtime acquired many skills and technological capabilities to better the lives of their people while on the other hand there are societies that are still trapped in poverty and dealing with the most basic development issues.
“Often the quick fix to this imbalance has been aid follows from rich nations. In many areas, this aid has not been properly put to use or well targeted” he pointed out but hastened to add: “In actual fact, there are no quick fixes, sustainable development requires that nations take ownership of their own agenda charting their own way forward and working with those who wish to support them along this path.
Kagame stressed that Countries that possess the skills and technological equipment required for rapid social economic transformation can work with those who do not so that these skills are transferred in a sustainable and meaningful manner.
This new model of partnership the President emphasized will require a shift in global development and cooperation practice, where developing nations including those in Africa will have to review how they conduct their business and by so doing, the developed countries will recognize that given the interconnected nature of the world prosperity that is only significant if it has a broader spectrum. “
For this to happen, there has to be engagement based on mutual respect and interests that ultimately meet everyone’s aspirations” the president observed.
He assured the audience that in terms of sustainable development, Rwanda has among other things established a solid foundation of scientific and technological knowledge as a priority and that his government’s development agenda is focused on investing in human capacity as the major and indispensable source needed for transforming society into knowledge-based one.
“We have put in place policies and strategies that support public and private institutions both local and foreign to provide a wide range of skills to our people.
“We have invested in communications infrastructure such as high capacity broad band networks that connect our education centers, healthcare facilities and government facilities to each other and the rest of the world” the president explained adding that with these technologies, the institutions are able to tap into a global pool of knowledge and build innovative capabilities.
In his conclusion, the president said that the advantages of in-country training are most obvious because it will allow a greater number of students to afford and access a higher level of knowledge and skills and the retention of well trained professionals where they are needed most in the developing parts of the world.
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