President Kagame is in Munich, Germany to attend the Munich Security Conference (MSC). The Conference aims to build trust and to contribute to the peaceful resolution of conflicts by sustaining a continuous, curated and informal dialogue within the international security community. It is the world’s leading forum for debating international security policy.
Today, the President took part in a Health Security Roundtable discussion organised by Munich Security Conference Foundation, in cooperation with the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
Speaking at the event, President Kagame highlighted that trust, communication, and good data are the real foundation of public health preparedness and response.
“We have to think rigorously about the link between conflict and epidemics, and as has also been stated, how the global effort can come together with national efforts and support each other. I think it has been demonstrated how that would benefit everyone. The Ebola outbreak in, for example, West Africa struck nations at peace. By contrast, the current outbreak in DRC has remained contained, despite insecurity there. One difference is that health workers in DRC have experience with detection and containment, and they seem able to relate effectively to the population. So there is that close link. In West Africa, the disease went unrecognised for months, and there was a trust deficit in public health messages that hindered response. As a result, the ultimate cost ran into the tens of billions, according to some estimates,” President Kagame said.
Munich Security Conference assembles more than 450 high-profile and senior decision-makers as well as thought-leaders from around the world, including heads of state, ministers, leading personalities of international and non-governmental organizations, high-ranking representatives of industry, media, academia, and civil society, to engage in an intensive debate.
High on the agenda of the MSC 2019 are themes such as the European Union’s self-assertion, transatlantic cooperation, as well as possible consequences of a renewed era of great power competition. Additionally, experts from across the globe will discuss the future of arms control and cooperation in defence policy. The intersection between trade and international security will be examined, as will the effects of climate change and technological innovations on the international security.
This year’s MSC convenes more than 35 heads of state and government, as well as 50 foreign and 30 defence Ministers. These include German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Egyptian President and African Union Chairperson Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, United States Vice President Mike Pence, and the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani among others.