Kagame talks investment, women empowerment at Saudi summit

Africa, like the rest of the world, has its challenges, from poor governance to no accountability, but it is a big mistake not to invest in the continent, President Paul Kagame has said. Kagame was speaking on Tuesday, October 25, during the 7th Edition of the Future Investment Initiative (FII), a major forum whose theme is to highlight the impact of global dialogues in navigating today’s uncertain times. Speaking during a fireside chat led by Richard Attias, CEO at FII institute, Kagame spoke at length about Rwanda’s journey 29 years after the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, women empowerment, as well as governance in Africa. ALSO READ: Kagame in Saudi Arabia for major investment forum Reacting to the concerns of investor fears in Africa, mostly catalysed by the instability on the continent due to the recent coups, Kagame maintained that it is a big mistake not to invest in Africa. “There is no question about it,” he pointed out, Africa has a potential market which is not a simple issue, citing that the vice would create problems not just on the continent but elsewhere. Kagame asserted that Africa is not one country but many countries, adding that the problems inside the continent are not exclusively for Africans. “The point I want to make is that we should, first of all, understand what the problems are, and not exaggerate and also understand that Africans and their leaders want to do their best to address these problems that have kept the continent behind the rest of the world.” ALSO READ: What you need to know about Rwanda-Saudi Arabia ties On the current coup d’état, Kagame urged world leaders to go beyond the coups and find the possible cause and their origins even when they seem to be military yet some are civilians and there is an interconnection of causes, arguing that it should not be coined in Africa, especially particularly in the context of colonization. For instance, he said, coups and bad governance in Africa are related to the amount of control that former colonisers still maintain on the continent and the coups happen on the watch of people from outside. “It is not right to jump into blaming Africans for having coups but possibly they should be blamed for letting them happen in the first place.” In Rwanda, Kagame said; “We have tried to invest, first of all, in people. Anything that empowers people and allows people to raise themselves to a high level, that’s what we start with.” The Head of State also tipped investors on investing in Rwanda, citing that the government has identified priority areas such as health, education, food security, infrastructure (real estate) and technology (ICTs). “Africa, Rwanda inclusive, wants more people to learn, cooperate, and work with each other as a way of moving forward, however, this can be attained by investing in our young people.” On human capital and gender equality, Kagame said it is simple logic to empower women because 52 per cent of Rwanda’s population are women. “So you can imagine what would happen in one’s country if we exclude the 52 per cent. You are just harming yourself. But women have rights too. They are human beings like all of us. We are lucky we are born to women. So how can you, at a certain point, forget the existence of the very people who bring us to existence?” Reflecting on his life as a refugee for over 30 years, Kagame said women played a direct role in the liberation struggle, “and thus it is a basic fact and proven to be right to empower and invest in women.”

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Kagame talks investment, women empowerment at Saudi summit