President Macron speaks at the Sports for Sustainable Development Summit on Thursday. He hailed President Kagame for prioritizing sports infrastructure development.
French President Emmanuel Macron has commended President Paul Kagame for his efforts to promote sports and infrastructure development which has positioned Rwanda to host international tournaments in recent years, calling on other countries to emulate what Rwanda is doing.
The French leader made the clarion call to help Africa and other developing parts of the world to advance in sports and infrastructure development at the Sports for Sustainable Development Summit, which took place in the French Capital Paris ahead of the opening of the 2024 Olympic Games scheduled for today, July 26.
On Thursday, President 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 President Macron and Thomas Bach, President of the International Olympic Committee, at Carrousel du Louvre in Paris.
The summit, co-organised with the support of the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) focused on the significant contributions of sports to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with the French leader calling for concerted efforts to help the African continent, Pacific Islands and Latin America to develop more infrastructure for major events.
The summit brought together global leaders.
“This is what President Kagame has done in an extraordinary way. In recent years, I have seen it myself, watching international basketball competitions alongside him. The international community must be in position to ensure that there is funding for countries that want to take this turn,” he said, pointing out that Rwanda is poised to host even more tournaments in 2026.
“President, I think it is a great opportunity for your country and for the entire region to move in this direction. Beyond the sport itself’s infrastructure, there is obviously the training of athletes which must accompany what we do with the various sports movements and we must continue this agenda,” Macron said.
The summit brought together Heads of State and Government, leaders of international organizations, athletes and representatives of the sporting movement, and development finance stakeholders.
