Beijing, 18 March 2017
President Kagame today met with African Ambassadors accredited to China in Beijing, with whom he discussed various issues concerning the continent as part of his two-day visit in China.
While addressing the Ambassadors, President Kagame appealed for the pursuit of a win-win partnerships as the envoys engaged the rest of the world in order to facilitate the continent’s quest for development.
President Kagame observed that the African continent must keep strengthening and improving the quality of partnerships globally and ensure that they present win-win scenarios.
President Kagame asked the Ambassadors to always present Africa as a continent where all preconditions for development, including human capital and material wealth are abundant and is capable of fitting in the global scene as equals as opposed to continued dependence on partners.
“It is my belief that we have everything that we need to succeed, with all the wealth that we possess in our countries; beginning with the most important which is human capital. Second in terms of material wealth; we have as much as the rest of the world has. How can we continue to accept that tax payers of other countries are the ones who toil to take care of our livelihood? We should manage ourselves and our resources. We should fit into the global scene as equals, because we lack nothing.”
President Kagame said that among the ways that the continent can become independent and spearhead its own development was by engaging in investment opportunities beneficial to Africa.
Emphasising the need for unity characterized by countries looking out for each other’s interest, President Kagame said:
“As African ambassadors, you need to keep the message alive that we need to keep working together at all levels of leadership. We need to keep looking out for each other’s best interests. If we implement this belief, there is nothing stopping us from succeeding,”
President Kagame said that the institutional reforms adopted by AU further emphasized the desire by Africans to implement the necessary changes that would improve the continent’s global standing.
Before concluding his two-day visit in China, President Kagame met and interacted with leaders of Rwandan students studying in China whom he encouraged to study hard and bring the expertise and skills to Rwanda.