Rwanda to host Francophonie parliamentary network meeting this week

Rwanda, a former colony of Belgium, joined the English club of nations, the Commonwealth, in 2009 but did not withdraw its membership from the French speaking nations’ grouping, ‘Francophonie’. Rwandans who spoke to The New Times still believe the country has a lot to benefit from La Francophonie group. The country hosts a Francophonie parliamentary network meeting of the Africa chapter this week.Innocent Ninsiima, a Rwandan representative at the Commonwealth Youth Forum, said that by remaining a member of La Francophonie, Rwanda provides multiple opportunities to explore in terms of relations between nations and benefits to the people. “When President Paul Kagame visited Paris, the French government pledged to strengthen its cultural centre with Rwanda; there are also scholarships meant for students within the Francophone countries, Rwandans have benefited and are still benefiting from such services. I believe we should continue tapping into these opportunities,” Ninsiima underscored. He added that the French language is another benefit since it gives Rwanda an opportunity to easily transact business with Francophonie countries. “I believe Rwanda benefits a lot by being a member of the bloc.” The Dean of Faculty of Law at the National University of Rwanda (NUR), Dr Emmanuel Ugirasebuja, also believes that Rwanda’s membership mainly contributes to promotion of relations among nations. “We are looking at a global system where partnership is based on mutual cooperation unlike previously when the relations on aid and patronage. To me, any forum that brings together nations for mutual benefit is of great importance,” commented Ugirasebuja. He added that: “Rwanda, being a member of both the Commonwealth and Francophonie gives it an opportunity to act as a bridge between the two big blocs.”In his opinion, Frank Mwine Mugisha, a political analyst and a Principal State Attorney, believes that the French speakers’ grouping stands to greatly benefit Rwanda in terms of technical support. “We need Francophonie and we need the French language in terms of doing business and interacting with the world that uses French; that is why I believe this bloc is an added advantage to Rwanda.” In an interview with The New Times, Senator Jean Damascene Bizimana detailed how Rwanda is currently benefiting as a member of the grouping and ruled out the option of quitting the bloc. “Before 1994, Rwanda was using French as a working language; many of the students who were being sent abroad for studies were going to French speaking countries. In this context, there is not much that has changed,” Bizimana said. He hastened to add that after 1994, the relations between Rwanda and the Francophone were not good considering France’s role in the Genocide against the Tutsi, but added that that did not affect Rwandan relations with other individual member countries. “There are Genocide perpetrators who live in some countries that are members of Francophonie, we need to be in this bloc to have them extradited to Rwanda or tried wherever they are. “Rwanda now has trade relations with some members of the Francophonie, a case in point is Gabon and Congo-Brazzaville where RwandAir operates flights to facilitate businesspersons. Also, Rwanda is opening up embassies in Francophone countries like Senegal,” stated Bizimana. Meanwhile, Parliament Deputy Speaker, Evariste Kalisa, said that the parliamentary meeting, slated for February 16, will be the Fourth Conference of African Parliamentary Speakers from the Francophone countries.“So far, 60 people from 13 countries have confirmed participation and many others are still applying. This forum aims to promote social services, human rights and following up on the previous decisions by the Heads of State,” Kalisa revealed. The conference will be held under the theme: “The Role of African Parliaments in Promoting Good Governance”Twenty-four African nations are members of Francophonie.