Kigali, 16 January 2018
President Kagame today hosted envoys accredited to represent their countries in Rwanda to the annual diplomats’ luncheon at the Kigali Convention Centre, after receiving letters of credence from 10 newly accredited envoys at Urugwiro Village.
President Kagame started his remarks by wishing the envoys a good start to the New Year:
“We are happy for each and every one of you, representing your countries and organisations in Rwanda. I would like to extend a special welcome, to the new envoys who presented their credentials today. I wish you every success in your work, and an enjoyable stay in your temporary home. We are pleased that the diplomatic community in Kigali continues to grow, with the establishment of new embassies.”
Speaking about the past year, President Kagame stated that it was a good one for Rwanda.
While we still have a long journey ahead, we made progress in many areas, and continue to learn from our experience, and from others. As the incoming chair of the African Union for 2018, Rwanda will be even more focused on Africa integration than ever before. We look forward to working closely with our brothers and sisters around the continent to make progress towards the priorities we have set for ourselves. But equally important, we want to work with partners from outside the continent because if we do, and if we address these challenges we are all of us better off.”
The new envoys who presented their letters of credence included Julia Pataraki of Romania, Konstantinos Moatsos, of Greece, Rakiatou Mayaki of Niger, Seyed Morteza Mortazavi, of Iran, and Nicola Bellomo, representing the European Union. Others are Oumar Daou, of Mali, Abdalla Hassan Eisa Bushara, of Sudan, Ahmed Samy Mohamed El-Ansary, of Egypt, Lulit Zewdie Gebremariam of Ethiopia and Joanne Lomas, the new British High Commissioner.
President Kagame made a toast to progress, prosperity and friendship to all nations.