{"id":2000118361,"date":"2026-07-05T13:00:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-05T11:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/?p=2000118361"},"modified":"2026-07-05T13:00:15","modified_gmt":"2026-07-05T11:00:15","slug":"our-story-is-no-longer-defined-by-tragedy-amb-mirenge-at-kwibohora32-celebration-in-uae","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/our-story-is-no-longer-defined-by-tragedy-amb-mirenge-at-kwibohora32-celebration-in-uae\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Our story is no longer defined by tragedy\u2019 \u2014 Amb. Mirenge at Kwibohora32 celebration in UAE"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

He was speaking in Abu Dhabi on July 4, 2026, during Kwibohora32 celebrations hosted at a reception that brought together more than 300 guests, including senior UAE government officials, members of the diplomatic corps, business leaders, friends of Rwanda, and members of the Rwandan community. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The event was attended by Sultan Mohammed Al Shamsi, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for Development and International Organizations, who represented the UAE government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Addressing guests, Ambassador Mirenge reflected on the significance of Rwanda\u2019s Liberation on July 4, 1994, when the Rwanda Patriotic Army ended the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi and liberated the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRwanda’s Liberation was far more than a military victory. It marked the rebirth of a nation. It restored dignity to our people and created the conditions for unity, reconciliation, and inclusive nation-building,\u201d Ambassador Mirenge said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He noted that the liberation laid the foundation for Rwanda\u2019s recovery and long-term development, enabling the country to emerge as a stable and forward-looking nation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur story is no longer defined by tragedy, but by remarkable transformation. Today, Rwanda is widely recognised as one of Africa’s fastest-growing economies and one of its safest, cleanest, and best-governed countries,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ambassador also highlighted the growing strategic partnership between Rwanda and the United Arab Emirates, describing it as a reflection of the strong relations between the two countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Ambassador Mirenge, bilateral trade has increased from approximately USD 300 million a decade ago to around USD 1 billion today, while cumulative UAE investments in Rwanda have exceeded USD 320 million, underscoring growing investor confidence in Rwanda\u2019s business environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He further emphasized the role of sustained high-level engagements in strengthening cooperation, citing President Paul Kagame\u2019s visit to the UAE last year, as well as visits by senior UAE officials to Rwanda. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These exchanges, he noted, continue to deepen collaboration in trade, investment, technology, innovation, infrastructure, and other strategic sectors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Concluding his remarks, Ambassador Mirenge invited investors and business leaders from the UAE and beyond to explore opportunities in Rwanda, reaffirming the country\u2019s commitment to maintaining a conducive environment for investment and long-term partnerships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The celebration formed part of Rwanda\u2019s global commemorations of Kwibohora32, marking 32 years since the country\u2019s liberation and reflecting on the progress achieved in unity, reconciliation, and socio-economic transformation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
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Over 300 people attended Kwibohora32 celebration in the UAE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Ambassador John Mirenge with Sultan Mohammed Al Shamsi, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for Development and International Organizations at UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Ambassador John Mirenge addressing the audience at the celebration of Kwibohora32<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rwanda\u2019s Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, John Mirenge, has said the country\u2019s journey is no longer defined by its painful past but by remarkable transformation and resilience.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2000118365,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[151,69],"byline":[170],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-2000118361","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-40","tag-editors-choice","tag-homehighlights","byline-igihe"],"bylines":[{"id":170,"name":"IGIHE","slug":"igihe","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":8}],"contributors":[{"id":170,"name":"IGIHE","slug":"igihe","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":8}],"featured_image":{"id":2000118365,"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/07\/Ambassador-John-Mirenge-addressing-the-audience1.jpg","alt":"","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","width":900,"height":600,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/07\/Ambassador-John-Mirenge-addressing-the-audience1.jpg","width":900,"height":600},"medium":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/07\/Ambassador-John-Mirenge-addressing-the-audience1.jpg","width":900,"height":600},"medium_large":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/07\/Ambassador-John-Mirenge-addressing-the-audience1.jpg","width":900,"height":600},"large":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/07\/Ambassador-John-Mirenge-addressing-the-audience1.jpg","width":900,"height":600},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/07\/Ambassador-John-Mirenge-addressing-the-audience1.jpg","width":900,"height":600}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000118361","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2000118361"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000118361\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2000118366,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000118361\/revisions\/2000118366"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2000118365"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2000118361"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2000118361"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2000118361"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=2000118361"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=2000118361"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}