London, 18 April 2018
President Kagame this morning took part in a High-level roundtable discussion on the ‘State Fragility, Growth and Development’.
The High-level roundtable discussions that focused on encouraging and promoting inclusive economic growth in fragile and conflict situations as a key priority for global security and international development gathered Commonwealth Heads of Government and senior business leaders from across the Commonwealth and was chaired by Former United Kingdom Prime Minister David Cameron, who is the Chair of the Commission of State Fragility, Growth and Development.
In his intervention, President Kagame stated that fragility could affect both small and big states, poor countries as well as rich ones, including multiparty systems, and that it affects growth and human development.
“The story of Rwanda proves that fragility need not be a permanent state. It can be resolved. The difference between resilience and fragility is the quality of politics. Are we mindful of the need for accountability and to benefit all citizens without exclusion? Do you keep putting money into a country without knowing how it is being out to use? In Rwanda we put a framework in place where both sides could measure the results. We involved our citizens as we went along.”
Following the morning roundtable discussion, President Kagame also attended the ‘Africa Leaders Roundtable’ which assessed Africa’s growth story with a special focus on intra-African trade and attracting investment into Africa.
The Africa Leaders roundtable was attended by Heads of Government from across the continent and was chaired by Lord Marland, Chairman of the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council and Richard Etemesi, the Vice Chairman of Standard Chartered.
At the Africa leaders’ roundtable, President Kagame pointed out that there was good progress and a good start in as far as Africa’s growth story was concerned.
“But there’s a lot to do ahead of us, and I’m sure that Africa’s leaders and CEOs are up to the task. We want to do what’s best for our continent and our people. We as leaders still have to make sure that the business environment keeps improving, so that citizens can fully benefit from trade and free movement. The AfCFTA was adopted last month by African leaders. Trade and investment are set to grow across the continent, creating opportunities for manufacturing and value addition. Whatever bad names have been applied to Africa should only inspire us to do better.
Also present at the forum were Presidents Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya and Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa.
President Kagame also met with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Boris Johnson, British Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on the sidelines of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).