The bedrock of any successful model is great leadership- Amb. Hategeka to Anwar Gargash Diplomatic Academy students  

On 3^rd March 2022, H.E Ambassador Emmanuel Hategeka addressed virtually a class of Africa in International Relations with a focus on Rwanda at Anwar Gargash Diplomatic Academy, in Abu Dhabi. He explained Rwanda’s political and economic development trajectory from a dark past to the remarkable turnaround in less than three decades.

He told students that a decade ago everyone you met only knew the bad history about Rwanda but today everyone knows about the bright side of the new Rwanda! Ambassador Hategeka emphasized on the role of leadership in Rwanda’s successful model. “The bedrock of any successful model is great leadership. Under the visionary leadership of H.E President Paul Kagame who rallied Rwandans around 3 strategic choices of Unity, Accountability and Thinking Big, Rwanda registered remarkable progress across various sectors,” he expounded.

Elaborating on economic performance, Ambassador Hategeka explained that Rwanda’s economy recovered tremendously over the last two decades. “Rwanda's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increased close to 14 fold between 1994 and 2020 and the GDP per capita also increased seven fold during the same period,” he noted.

The economic performance moved with social transformation. Poverty has significantly been reduced, universal health insurance was put in place whilst universal primary and secondary education is provided along with other social protection programs for a dignified life for all Rwandans.

Regarding international cooperation, Rwanda has established and maintained quality relationships with other countries for sustainable development, peace, security and stability. Rwanda is an active member of over 200 international organizations and a top UN peacekeeping troop contributor country.

He observed that Rwanda shares her experience of homegrown solutions with the global community through Rwanda Cooperation Initiative. “You can’t copy and paste a model but there is much we learn from one another within south to south and triangular cooperation framework,” Ambassador expounded.

From Rwanda’s experience, he highlighted three key contributors to success: 1) Results oriented leadership that is accountable to citizens, 2) Peoples’ resilience, ownership of the vision and trust in their leadership 3) Partnerships from within and outside Rwanda.

The discussion also touched on Rwanda-UAE relations, a segment in which Ambassador Hategeka said that the two countries enjoy excellent relations that cut across diplomacy, trade, investment and tourism among others. “We have many things in common including the visionary leadership that dares to dream and make the impossible possible,” Ambassador Hategeka explained.

He said that there is a positive future outlook of Rwanda-UAE relations: “Our cooperation will continue to grow and expand beyond traditional areas of trade and investment to skills development, innovation and ICT mainly Artificial Intelligence, Space and renewable energy, among others.”

Posted by Pierre Muyombano