President Kagame on Thursday at Urugwiro Village received the Commonwealth Secretary General, Kamalesh Sharma, who is on his first visit to Rwanda since accession to the Commonwealth in November last year. Mr. Sharma is in Rwanda for a three-day visit that includes meetings with various government and civil society institutions.
In discussions at the meeting, President Kagame expressed his appreciation to Mr. Sharma and the Commonwealth Secretariat for the support provided to Rwanda during the bid process to join the organization and noted that Rwanda was looking forward to be an active member of the Commonwealth, building on the new partnership to make further progress on the path to development.
Mr. Sharma said that his visit to Rwanda reinforced his belief in the reciprocal benefits to be gained- “As the first Secretary General to welcome Rwanda into the Commonwealth, for both this country and for this organization, it is a historical moment… there are tremendous achievements in this country which will be of great benefit to our organization and to our members as a value based organization.”
A formal ceremony to mark the installation of the Rwandan flag will take place in March in London. Rwanda is set to engage with the Commonwealth community in several areas including trade and investment, good governance, education, technology and youth development.