LONDON - PRESIDENT Paul Kagame, yesterday, arrived in London, UK, for a two-day working visit, where he will deliver the 2010 Oppenheimer Lecture at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).

Kagame’s address entitled; "The Challenges of Nation Building in Africa – the Case of Rwanda”, will draw on the lessons learnt from Rwanda’s approach to post-genocide reconstruction and nation-building, and will bring together over 200 participants.

Founded in 1958, the IISS has membership drawn from 90 countries and is a leading authority on political-military conflict and facilitates contacts between government leaders, business people and analysts that would lead to the development of better public policy in the fields of international relations and international security.

Previous high profile speakers at the IISS include President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President Ali Zardari of Pakistan, former President George W. Bush, former Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Gen. Stanley McChrystal from the United States.

The President’s lecture as well as the question-and-answer session that will follow will be streamed live on the IISS website, www.iiss.org

On leaving London at the end of the week, President Kagame will travel to New York to participate in a series of high-level engagements at next week’s UN General Assembly.

Kagame is scheduled to co-chair, along with Carlos Slim, the second meeting of the Broadband Commission and present the report of the Commission to the UN Secretary General at a ceremony to be held on September19.
In his role as co-chair of the UN Secretary General’s Advocacy Group on the MDGs, President Kagame will also address the MDG Summit on September 21 and participate in the second meeting of the Advocacy Group.

Also scheduled for this weekend in New York is the semi-annual meeting of President Kagame’s Advisory Council (PAC). Rwanda is expected to address the UN General Assembly on Friday next week.

Ends