President Paul Kagame has attributed Rwanda’s recovery from the devastation of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi to a sound national vision that’s anchored on discipline and a resilient mindset.

The President was addressing business leaders from around the world on the sidelines of this year’s World Economic Forum (WEF), which opened yesterday in Davos, Switzerland.

He is among 40 Heads of State and Government, policymakers and business leaders who are attending the Forum, held under the theme, "The Reshaping of the World: Consequences for Society, Politics and Business.”

It is a five-day event with a series of meetings on the sidelines.

Vision

Speaking at a breakfast meeting hosted by former British premier and Rwanda’s friend Tony Blair, and Marc Holtzman, the chairman, Meridian Capital Asia, Kagame said: "We have a vision based on identifying our challenges, having plans to address them benefit our people.”

The business executives had expressed interesting learning about investment opportunities in Rwanda.

Kagame said Rwanda’s recovery was down to a national vision that has helped identify challenges and lay strategies to address them.  

He added that Rwanda’s tragic history continues to serve as a lesson to ensure that history never repeats itself. 

"It’s about the discipline and the mindset that can apply to turning challenges into opportunities and allow people to grow and move forward,” Kagame said.

The President also encouraged the business leaders to join Rwanda’s journey of transformation through partnerships that are both profitable and contribute to the country’s priorities.

Kagame is also expected to participate in sessions on Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as well as a televised CNN session, entitled "Can Emerging Markets Deliver Global Growth?”

Marketing opportunity

Speaking to this paper from Davos, Amb. Claver Gatete, the minister for finance and economic planning, said the Forum was an opportunity for the Rwandan delegation to market the country, especially in areas of investments.

"We will use this Forum not only to learn and share experiences from the developed world but also to try and link Rwanda with international investors given the fact that most multinational companies are being represented here; the forum is therefore timely and we are optimistic that it will yield good results for Rwanda,” Amb. Gatete said in a telephone interview with this paper. 

The World Economic Forum is aimed at developing the insights, initiatives and actions necessary to respond to current and emerging challenges around the world.  

The meeting will comprise 250 sessions involving 1,500 business leaders (from the Forum’s 1,000 member companies) and 300 public figures.

Representatives of international organisations, civil society and spiritual leaders, academia and the media, as well as cultural leaders are also in attendance.

Klaus Schwab, the Wef president, said the Forum will provide valuable insights into what leaders make of current political crises and what should be done to resolve them, including ideas on how to fuel economic growth while dealing with global financial crisis.

The Forum is also expected to come up with resolutions on how to narrow the gap between the rich and the poor.

According to the Wef’s latest global report, there is still a chronic gap between the rich and the poor, posing the biggest single risk to societies and economies across the globe, especially in the developing world.

Experts have warned of a lost generation if unemployment is not dealt with urgently.

"Disgruntlement can lead to the dissolution of the fabric of society, especially if young people feel they don’t have a future,” Wef chief economist, Jennifer Blanke, said.