Hosting FIA General Assembly is a privilege for Rwanda—Minister Nyirishema

It is exactly a year since the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) announced that Kigali will host the 2024 FIA annual general assembly. This will mark the first time the event is coming to Africa and Rwanda becoming the first country on the continent to host it. The 2024 FIA General Assembly will take place from December 10-13. The closing day, on December 13, will coincide with the FIA Awards during which the best performing drivers of 2024 will be awarded. Over 800 delegates from across the globe are expected to travel to Kigali for the high level meeting. Minister of Sports Richard Nyirishema spoke to Times Sport and explained what bringing the event to Kigali means for Rwanda and for the local motorsport industry in particular. Rwanda is from December 10-13 hosting the FIA General Assembly and Awarding ceremony. How did this event come to our country? First, it aligns with Rwandan vision and the MICE strategy to host big events like this one. It is not the first time we have hosted big meetings and sporting events in Rwanda and this has proven the country’s readiness to host this event. It was mainly for the interest of Rwanda, for any sporting event to contribute to the economic development of the country and, through different networks that have been discussed in the past, we came out with an idea of hosting this event. So Rwanda is ready to host the FIA General Assembly. What does hosting this event mean for Rwanda and Rwandan motorsport in particular? This important event coming to Rwanda will be the first to be hosted in Africa; so Rwanda being the first country in Africa to host it is a privilege, an honour and also the proof of trust that international organisations are giving Rwanda, given the experience in hosting such kinds of events. For the motorsport in particular, I think it is a good opportunity to promote the sport in Rwanda. I think by having this event and, through different side events which have been organized, people will be able to hear more about motorsport and be interested to promote it in the future. Another aspect is sports tourism; this is a good opportunity for branding our country and the people who are coming here will have an opportunity to see the beauty of Rwanda and different packages given to them in terms of tourism. So all of these will definitely contribute to the economic development of the country. How ready is Rwanda for the event and how many delegates do you expect? We are expecting around 450 participants who will attend the FIA General Assembly from December 10-13 and an additional 400 people will join the FIA Awards ceremony on December 13. That means that around 850 people are coming to Rwanda for the event. In terms of preparations, we’ve been through different meetings with concerned institutions, and everything is set for us to host and welcome this general assembly of FIA. This is a big event that brings together prominent figures in the motorsport world. Could you tell us some top personalities expected in Kigali for the FIA General Assembly? I am not going to maybe go through all the names but we are expecting presidents of federations (automobile clubs) and top drivers who from all over the world because we are expecting to have an award ceremony as well as different investors that are interested in motor sports. Some are coming with their families...so I think they will enjoy because everything has been set to welcome them in the country. We understand that Rwanda is interested in hosting a Formula One race. Is that so? If so, how far is the process? What are chances of hosting it? A lot of people have been asking about what is happening but it wouldn't be appropriate for Rwanda to reveal or say anything on ongoing discussions on that topic but what we can say is that Rwanda will continue to pursue any opportunity that will bring any kind of international event because that is also part of our strategy for any sports or non-sports event to come to Rwanda and contribute to the economic transformation that we are aiming at. Do you think Rwandan motorsport has potential to thrive? What does government plan to take it to another level? I think everything has a start. In Rwanda, the Rwanda Automobile Club has been organising some events for the past few years...the most known is the Rwanda Mountain Gorilla Rally, which is a regional and international competition. We are bringing a new aspect where, for example, you've seen that we are experiencing the Go Kart, people have experienced the E-Sport... We are at the beginning but everything has a start as they say it. We are expecting that this kind of event of bringing people in the motorsport industry will bring the enthusiasm and also more projects that will help to build and improve the motorsport in Rwanda that we have at this time. One last message to Rwandans ahead of the event? Everyone should be excited to welcome this group of people as our guests. We must also expect some disturbance in terms of traffic but we are working with the national police to make sure that everything is well organised and people are informed in advance so that alternative roads are provided and communicated in time.