{{President Paul Kagame began his three day visit in California with a keynote speech at Los Angeles World Affairs Council.}}
Addressing leaders in private and public sector of Los Angeles, President Kagame spoke on Rwanda’s journey of recovery in the past twenty years:
“20 years ago we sanked to the very bottom, observers considered Rwanda a failed state and predicted it would remain so. For people of Rwanda, that was not an option. We had to move upwards and do it together. It’s about restoring life, hope and dignity of our people.”
President Kagame added that reconstruction is an ongoing journey with challenges Rwanda is determined to overcome:
“The progress we have achieved is testament that we can reach further goals. We have moved beyond mere survival, we are more determined than ever to pursue our efforts towards prosperous and dignified future for all Rwandans.”
Stressing Rwanda’s commitment to draw from its own context to provide solutions to its challenges, President Kagame shared the example of Gacaca:
“In ten years, Gacaca tried 2 million cases for less than one billion dollars. The UN funded International Criminal Tribunal tried 60 cases in 19 years at cost of 2 billion dollars.”
The keynote speech was followed by an interactive session where topics discussed included Rwanda’s vision for the future and peace and security in the region.
Speaking on priorities for Rwanda future, President Kagame pointed to prosperity, stability and peace and security:
“When we look around the world, in some places prosperity has been taken for granted. The question is why shouldn’t this be possible for others. We believe it is possible for Rwanda and Africa.”
President Kagame concluded by emphasizing the importance of regional integration and continental cooperation:
“I don’t think of Rwanda out of the African context. Rwanda is not and cannot be an island. I wish for the rest of Africa what I wish for my country.”
President Kagame began the day with a tour of the Shoah Foundation where fifty thousand testimonies of genocide survivors are preserved including testimonies of survivors of the Genocide Against the Tutsi.
Prior to addressing the Los Angeles World Affairs Council, President Kagame held an interactive session with over forty high school students.
President Kagame will continue his tour of California in San Francisco where he will be addressing the Wisdom 2.0 conference on the socio-economic transformation of Rwanda.
The conference will bring together over two thousand leaders in fields including technology to politics,media and private sector to discuss the role of technology in transforming lives.
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