First Lady Jeannette Kagame arrived in Djibouti on Tuesday, for a two day state visit.

The First Lady accompanied President Paul Kagame to the nation in the Horn of Africa.

Upon her arrival in Djibouti, Mrs Kagame visited a women’s union known by its French name, Union Nationale des Femmes de Djibouti (UNFD), at the invitation of the First Lady of Djibouti Kadra Mahamoud Haid.

Mrs Haid has been the President of the UNFD since 2000.

The event was attended by hundreds of women from the Djiboutian government and civil society, according to a statement from the office of the First Lady.

It included a presentation on the work of the UNFD in promoting the socio-political and economic empowerment of the Djiboutian woman since the country’s independence 40 years ago.

The Djibouti Minister of Gender and Family Promotion, Momina Houmed, while outlining the recent progress in the representation of women in the judicial and political space of the Horn-of-Africa country, also made a call for "greater ties” between the women of Djibouti and Rwanda.

The First Ladies toured some of the workshops under the women’s union, such as the ones teaching young women culinary arts and craftsmanship.

The First Lady also visited the union’s centre - Centre d’écoute, d’orientation, et d’information - which just celebrated 10 years of fighting gender based violence, while providing a safe place for women (and men) to report cases of abuse and begin the healing process through medical care and legal advice.

Rwanda and Djibouti have good trade and diplomatic ties and Mrs Kagame’s visit, along with President Kagame, is expected to further expand the trend into socio-political ties—including in the area of economic empowerment of women.

Meanwhile, Djibouti’s President Ismael Omar Guelleh and First Lady Kadra Mahamoud Haid hosted President Kagame and Mrs Jeannette Kagame to a State Banquet last evening.

editorial@newtimes.co.rw