ADDIS ABABA, August 6 — The Ethiopian Minister of State for foreign Affairs, Hirut Zemene, has congratulated President Paul Kagame for his re-election and applauded the tremendous achievements.

Zemene said this during a ceremony at the Rwanda Embassy in Addis Ababa on Saturday to celebrate the victory of President Kagame in the just concluded elections.

Kagame won with a landslide of 98.6 percent.

"The people of Rwanda under the leadership of President Kagame have registered extraordinary achievements with unbending determination to do what is right for their nation,” Zemene said.

She pointed out that Rwanda has come quite a distance in charting its own way, successfully implementing its homegrown policies and registering remarkable results that many want to emulate.

"I congratulate him [Kagame] and Rwandans for his re- election in the concluded elections,” Zemene added.

The State Minister also said that this year marked another milestone in the bilateral relations between Ethiopia and Rwanda following the State visit of Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn to Rwanda and that her country values its partnership with Rwanda with great commitment.

The ambassador of Rwanda to Ethiopia, Hope Tumukunde Gasatura, told the gathering constituting mainly diplomats, that President Kagame has been very central in Rwanda's liberation and success story and that is why he has overwhelmingly been elected.

The ceremony at the embassy also marked the 23rd anniversary of the liberation struggle that brought to an end the Genocidal regime in 1994.

"President Kagame has been very central to Rwanda's liberation and success story and that is why in the interest of stability and continuity, Rwandans through the referendum had requested him to continue leading them for the next seven years to which he accepted and has overwhelmingly been re-elected with 98.66% of the votes,” Gasatura said.

Over 200 diplomats working in Ethiopia, friends of Rwanda and members of the Rwandan community attended the event.