“When the genocide was taking place in our country, and the rest of the world looked the other way and didn’t pay attention to us, that taught us a lesson. That’s when we began putting our pieces together, trying to build from within, bringing everyone to contribute, and creating that level of trust that gave us an opportunity to build institutions that were accountable to our people’s needs directly.
But this did not stop us from cooperating with the rest of the world. In fact, we received support from a number of friends and partners. However, that support would not have been helpful – would not have had an impact – if we were not standing together ourselves and doing our part from within.
In Rwanda, we have learned that external alignment, without internal stability, only deepens our vulnerabilities. Our priority is therefore focused on what delivers real and measurable benefits to our people.” President Kagame | Astana International Forum.