President Kagame today received credentials of 7 new envoys accredited to Rwanda. The new Ambassadors will represent Slovakia, Sierra Leone, Turkey, New Zealand, Malaysia, Djibouti and the European Union.

Ambassador Michal Mlynar who will represent Slovakia based in Nairobi said he is going to work hard to ensure that the existing bilateral cooperation between Rwanda and his country grows stronger, because the two nations share a lot in common. He said he will specifically focus on areas of Agriculture, Infrastructure and technology. He has served his country in different capacities. Rwanda and Slovakia enjoy warm relations.

Ambassador Andrew Gbebay Bangali, who will be representing Sierra Leone to Rwanda with residence in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, said his country has a lot to learn from Rwanda and that there is already a cooperation mechanism in place which he intends to strengthen.

Ambassador Michael Ryan said the EU is a friend of Rwanda and that he would continue with the work that his predecessor was doing with the aim of doing even better. Before being posted to Rwanda, Mr Michael Ryan was deployed as the European Union’s Charge d’affaires to Syria but was based in Brussels because of the ongoing civil war in Syria. Previously, he served as political section officer at EU’s delegation in Egypt. Mr. Ryan replaces Michel Arrion who was named earlier this year as Ambassador of the European Union to Nigeria.

During a press briefing session after their presentation of credentials, the new envoys said they were happy to work with Rwanda which they said is a model on the African continent, to be part of Rwanda’s transformation story.

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