WITH 2019 designated as the year of tolerance in the United Arab Emirates, the country is keen to send some of its secondary and university students to Rwanda to learn how tolerance reconciled and united the country after the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.

This was revealed by Hazza Mohammed Falah Kharsan Alqahtani, the UAE Ambassador to Rwanda, during his visit to the Kigali Genocide Memorial yesterday.

He was explained how Genocide was masterminded and executed, leading to the deaths of over a million people in just 100 days.

Over 250,000 Genocide victims were interred in 14 graves at Kigali Genocide memorial site.

The visit follows the creation of United Arab Emirates embassy to Rwanda in June last year.

Rwanda and UAE cooperate in trade and investment, education as well as hospitality and tourism.

The envoy told The New Times that there should be cooperation on sharing the experience on tolerance between the two countries.

"2019 is the year in which UAE is looking at activities and projects related to tolerance. As the embassy, we are going to work on a plan that will deploy youth from secondary schools and universities in our countrywho will come to Rwanda, visit memorial sites to learn from the experience of how Rwandans rebuilt their nation by promoting tolerance and forgiveness,” he said.

He said future generations need to understand how good leadership like that of President Kagame brought about unity in a previously deeply divided country.

"This memorial site is a strong tool and education programme that will help future generations to learn from the past and build the future.

UAE hosts over 20 Rwandan students on scholarship programmes.

The third Rwanda Reconciliation Barometer report released in 2016 by the National Unity and Reconciliation Commission (NURC) showed that up to 92.5 per cent of Rwandans feel that unity and reconciliation has been achieved and that citizens live in harmony.

editorial@newtimes.co.rw