French President Emmanuel Macron has commended President Paul Kagame for his efforts in promoting the sports industry and infrastructure investments, urging the international community to be financiers for infrastructure development in Africa.
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He was speaking at the Sports for Sustainable Development Summit in the French capital, Paris, ahead of the opening of the 2024 Olympic Games scheduled for Friday, July 26.
On Thursday, Kagame joined other Heads of State and Government, leaders of international organizations, athletes, representatives of the sports movement and other stakeholders at the summit hosted by Macron and Thomas Bach, the President of the International Olympic Committee, at Carrousel du Louvre, in Paris.
Macron noted that Kagame’s efforts enabled Rwanda to host international tournaments in recent years, pointing out that he witnessed it himself when he attended a basketball game in the past.
"President Kagame has developed modern infrastructure. He is a man who acts, who obtains results and who speaks little,” he said, adding that Kagame embodies visionary and charismatic leadership that translates into pragmatic action and tangible results.
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"Under his leadership, Rwanda has undergone a remarkable transformation, marked by infrastructural development, modernization of the health system, expansion of higher education, and growth in tourism, all contributing to a better quality of life for its people.”
According to him, the international community must be open to enter financing partnerships with developing countries to build robust and modern infrastructure.
"Support must be extended to the African continent, Pacific, and Latin America, to further develop infrastructure for big events, which is what President Kagame did over the past years in an extraordinary way. I witnessed it myself when I was watching a basketball game alongside him.”
Macron said the games Rwanda is hosting in 2026 will be a perfect occasion for the country, and the region, to go in this direction.
"Beyond the sport’s infrastructure, there is obviously the training of athletes which we are currently doing with the various sports movements and we must continue this agenda.”
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The summit, co-organised with the support of France’s Agence Française de Développement (AFD) focused on the significant contributions of sports to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Macron called for concerted efforts to help the African continent, Pacific Islands and Latin America to develop more infrastructure for major events.