President Kagame began his three day Official Visit to Latvia with a tour of the Museum of the Occupation of Latvia. President Kagame and his host President Edgars Rinkēvičs will tomorrow hold a closed-door meeting before addressing a joint press conference.
President Paul Kagame this Tuesday arrived in the Latvian capital Riga to kick off a three-day official visit, the first by an African Head of State to the East European country.
The President will hold a tête-à-tête with his host President Edgars Rinkēvičs, followed by bilateral discussions with their respective delegations. The two Heads of State will also address a joint press conference, according to an announcement issued by the Office of the President.
While in Latvia, President Kagame will tour the Museum of the Occupation of Latvia, the Freedom Monument as well as witness and give remarks at the unveiling of the Commemorative plaque for the victims of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
President Kagame inside the Museum of the Occupation of Latvia.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Olivier Nduhungirehe, arrived in Riga ahead of President Kagame, where he met his counterpart Andzejs Vilumson to discuss ahead of the two Heads of State to discuss key areas of bilateral cooperation and security developments in Europe and Africa.
The visit running from 1-3 October 2024 is also the first official visit by a Rwandan President to the Baltic States and is expected to create a linkage between the two countries in terms of trade, tourism and other areas of interest.
Latvia lies along the shores of the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Riga, and it is bounded by Estonia to the north, Russia to the east, Belarus to the southeast, and Lithuania to the south.
According to Minister Nduhungirehe, during President Kagame’s visit, “a memorial to honour the victims of the 1994 Genocide perpetrated against the Tutsi will be inaugurated at the National Library of Latvia (“The Castle of Light”).”
“This will be the first genocide memorial erected in the Baltic States and in Eastern Europe,” Minister Nduhungirehe said.
Rwanda’s flag flies high in Riga as President Kagame arrives.
President Kagame listens as he is briefed about the memorabilia in the Museum of the Occupation of Latvia
