{"id":2000120141,"date":"2026-07-23T14:01:41","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T12:01:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/?p=2000120141"},"modified":"2026-07-23T14:34:28","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T12:34:28","slug":"rwanda-china-reaffirm-defence-ties-at-plas-99th-anniversary-celebration-in-kigali","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/rwanda-china-reaffirm-defence-ties-at-plas-99th-anniversary-celebration-in-kigali\/","title":{"rendered":"Rwanda, China reaffirm defence ties at PLA’s 99th anniversary celebration in Kigali"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Speaking at the celebration in Kigali, Major General Alex Kagame, Chief of Staff of the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) Reserve Force, congratulated the Chinese government and the PLA, describing the army as a modern force that has contributed to international peace and security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maj Gen Kagame said Rwanda values its longstanding friendship with China, noting that defence cooperation between the two countries has grown over the years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cChina\u2019s consistent support in professional military education and specialized training has made meaningful contributions to the continued development of RDF capabilities,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He added that Rwanda remains committed to strengthening cooperation with China, highlighting the importance of collaboration between the two armed forces in responding to complex and interconnected challenges amid an evolving international security environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis reality underscored the importance of trusted partnerships that promote capacity building, professional excellence and collective efforts towards working with regional and international peace stability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRwanda remains committed to working closely with China in pursuit of these shared objectives,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Chinese Defence Attach\u00e9 to Rwanda, Senior Captain Li Dayi, said the PLA\u2019s development has been guided by China\u2019s commitment to peaceful development and its belief that peace and harmony among nations are essential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He highlighted China\u2019s contribution to global peacekeeping, noting that since joining UN peacekeeping operations in 1990, the Chinese military has deployed more than 50,000 peacekeepers to missions across more than 20 countries and regions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Capt Li said China-Rwanda military cooperation has continued to grow through defence exchanges and expressed China\u2019s commitment to further deepening the partnership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cChina is willing to work with Rwanda, guided by the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, to elevate the military-to-military relationship to a new level on the basis of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He added that such cooperation would contribute to regional peace, stability and shared development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The PLA was founded on August 1, 1927, and has since developed into one of the world\u2019s largest military forces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The anniversary celebration brought together government officials, diplomats, defence attach\u00e9s, members of the Chinese community and friends to commemorate its history and achievements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photos from the celebration of the 99th anniversary of the Chinese People\u2019s Liberation Army (PLA) in Kigali<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Maj Gen Alex Kagame congratulates the Chinese government and the People\u2019s Liberation Army during the PLA anniversary celebration in Kigali.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Chinese Defence Attach\u00e9 Senior Capt Li Dayi highlighted China\u2019s contribution to global peacekeeping during the PLA anniversary event in Kigali.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Guests follow remarks during a ceremony marking the 99th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese People\u2019s Liberation Army in Kigali.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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RDF representatives and Chinese officials attended the celebration of the 99th anniversary of the Chinese People\u2019s Liberation Army in Kigali.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Rwanda and China officials gather in Kigali to mark the 99th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese People\u2019s Liberation Army.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Senior Capt Li Dayi, Chinese Defence Attach\u00e9 to Rwanda, addresses guests during the PLA\u2019s 99th anniversary celebration held in Kigali.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The celebration brought together government officials, diplomats, defence attach\u00e9s and members of the Chinese community in Kigali.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Maj Gen Alex Kagame, Chief of Staff of the RDF Reserve Force, delivers remarks during the celebration of the 99th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese People\u2019s Liberation Army in Kigali.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Photos: Kwizera Herv\u00e9<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rwanda has reaffirmed its commitment to deepening defence cooperation with China as the Chinese People\u2019s Liberation Army (PLA) marked the 99th anniversary of its founding.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2000120169,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[151,69],"byline":[160],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-2000120141","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-40","tag-editors-choice","tag-homehighlights","byline-theophile-niyitegeka"],"bylines":[{"id":160,"name":"Th\u00e9ophile Niyitegeka","slug":"theophile-niyitegeka","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":3}],"contributors":[{"id":160,"name":"Th\u00e9ophile Niyitegeka","slug":"theophile-niyitegeka","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":3}],"featured_image":{"id":2000120169,"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/07\/28-000a9670-c9725.jpg","alt":"","caption":"Rwanda and China officials gather in Kigali to mark the 99th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese People\u2019s Liberation Army.","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","width":1000,"height":667,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/07\/28-000a9670-c9725.jpg","width":1000,"height":667},"medium":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/07\/28-000a9670-c9725.jpg","width":1000,"height":667},"medium_large":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/07\/28-000a9670-c9725.jpg","width":1000,"height":667},"large":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/07\/28-000a9670-c9725.jpg","width":1000,"height":667},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/07\/28-000a9670-c9725.jpg","width":1000,"height":667}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000120141","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=2000120141"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000120141\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2000120197,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000120141\/revisions\/2000120197"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2000120169"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2000120141"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2000120141"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2000120141"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=2000120141"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=2000120141"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}