Rwandans in Singapore were joined by over 200 friends and partners to celebrate the Rwanda Cultural Night.

The Tuesday event was organised by Rwanda High Commission in Singapore, featuring performances by the renowned local traditional troupe, Inganzo Ngari.

The troupe is also scheduled to perform in five more events that are part of Singapore’s 50th Independence anniversary celebrations.

The event exhibited Rwanda’s rich culture, various locally made products and the achievements registered in the last 20 years to an audience that included government officials, members of the diplomatic corps, the business community, journalists, representatives of international organisations, friends of Rwanda as well as the Rwandan Community in Singapore.

Among the highlights of the night were traditional dance performances that included the famous ‘Intore (Warrior) dance,’ charming performances (kwiyereka) as well as traditional drummers.

Addressing the gathering, the Charge d’Affaires of the Rwandan High Commission, Lucas Murenzi, said bilateral relations between Singapore and Rwanda were excellent.

A lot has been achieved in bilateral cooperation, trade and investments as well as technical cooperation between the two countries, he said.

Murenzi added that the Rwandan Cultural Night, which was the first of six performances, was meant to further strengthen the people-to-people relations between Rwandans and Singaporeans.

The chief guest at the event, Yatiman Yusof, the Singapore’s non-resident High Commissioner to Rwanda, called on those that have not visited Rwanda yet to do so.

"Rwanda is a must-visit country whose political leadership and people have continued to be determined and focused on developing Rwanda and improving the well-being of its people,” he said.

Yatiman said Rwanda hadregistered impressive development record over the past 20 years and the energetic performances by the dancers was a reflection of the government and people of Rwanda’s energy and desire to drive the country to even greater heights.

He cited areas like security and political stability, high rate economic growth rate, social welfare, the beauty of Rwanda and near-zero level of corruption as some of the highlights of present Rwanda. 

The event, held at the Holiday Inn Hotel Orchard, also saw the launch of a documentary, "10 Days in Rwanda,” produced by a team of four Singaporeans during a 10-day visit to the country in 2014.

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