President Kagame and his host President Rinkēvičs address members of the media after their tête-a-tête discussions. Photos/Urugwiro Village
President Paul Kagame on Wednesday embarked on the second day of his visit to Latvia, held talks with his host, President Edgars Rinkēvičs, with whom they discussed ways of partnering to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries which share a common history.
In the capital Riga, President Kagame was received by President Rinkēvičs at Riga Castle where they held tête-a-tête discussions before they were joined by members of both delegations for bilateral discussions before the two heads of state addressed members of the media.
President Kagame, who on Tuesday toured the Museum of the Occupation of Latvia, said that Rwanda and Latvia share a lot in common, given the history of the two countries, pointing out that the visit serves as an opportunity for the two countries to do even more together.
“Following my discussion with the President, and between our delegations, it is evident that Rwanda and Latvia share strong bonds of friendship. We were deeply moved by our visit yesterday to the Museum of the Occupation of Latvia. This exhibit holds a universal message about the protection of rights and freedoms,” President Kagame said.
The two Heads of State discussed ways of strengtheningbilateral ties.
“The purpose of this visit is to explore new opportunities for the mutual benefit of our people. There is already a growing interest in the field of sustainable agriculture. What also unites Rwanda and Latvia is a common understanding that we can no longer do business as usual. We need a multilateral system that is more fit-for-purpose, and which treats everyone equally,” he added.
He pointed out that there is a need to prioritize growth areas, such as information technology and others so that the two countries can ultimately work together, to find solutions to the unique set of challenges they face.
On his part, President Rinkēvičs said that the visit by President Kagame to Latvia is not only going to be key in deepening bilateral cooperation as well as regional cooperation but it also has a historic importance for both countries.
“We discussed bilateral Corporation as well and we can see at the moment, already there is good potential for economic cooperation, many IT companies in particular, and other companies are quite active on the Rwandan market. However, we can deepen this cooperation further,” President Rinkēvičs said.
President Kagame and President Rinkēvičs spoke to the Presss.
“We have created a good and efficient corporation mechanism between our Foreign Ministries. We are consulting each other and soon, we’ll have our honorary consul in the Rwanda, which might be in efficient vehicle for further deepening our bilateral, economic, political dialogue, and corporation,” he added.
‘The visit of the Rwandan President is aimed at deepening bilateral cooperation as well as regional corporation and it also again has a historic importance. Yesterday President Kagame visited the Museum of Occupation and he learnt more about the dark pages in our history,” he further said.
President Kagame and his host later laid wreaths at the Freedom Monument in honour of those who lost their lives in Latvia’s struggle for independence, an act President Rinkēvičs is symbolic for the two countries, which both suffered unpleasant chapters in their history, referencing the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, which claimed more than one million people.
President Kagame and his host later visited and laid wreaths at the Freedom Monument in honour of those who lost their lives in Latvia’s struggle for independence.
