Rwanda is a country that has come from far and wants to go very far, Foreign Affairs and Cooperation minister Louise Mushikiwabo said Friday, reaffirming the country’s vision for socio-economic transformation.

Mushikiwabo was speaking at Amahoro National Stadium in Kigali during the swearing in ceremony of President Paul Kagame, as she introduced the more than 20 current and former Heads of State and Government at the event.

Mushikiwabo said: "Rwanda is a country that wants to go far, very far. And we still have some way to go. Rwanda is also a country that has refused to compromise its vision, choices and values, because its dignity and its unity are well worth the trouble.”

The minister noted that the August 3/4 presidential election was a moment of great joy in the entire country, as well as among members of the Rwandan community living abroad.

When the National Electoral Commission (NEC) released the final tally of the Presidential Elections, Kagame, who was sworn in for a seven-year term yesterday, had garnered 98.79 per cent of the 6.9 million votes cast.

In some way, Mushikiwabo observed, there is a consciousness of the fact that Rwanda – and its reconciled and determined people – "is a blessed country” given all that it has gone through in the past two decades.

"And so here we are gathered in this beautiful stadium named after peace [Amahoro] to celebrate a man through whom many of the blessings that came to this country have been manifested; a man who has forged an unbreakable bond with his people,” Mushikiwabo said.

President Kagame took oath of office Friday officially marking the start of a new seven-year term.

Observers have noted that Kagame’s visionary leadership has been important to Rwanda’s re-birth after the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.

The nation rose from the ashes to be a reference in successful and exemplary post-conflict recovery in numerous domains including reconciliation, economic development, good governance, and gender equality.

Among others, the country continues to demonstrate consistent strong performance in the World Bank Doing Business Rankings with decent progress being made across all key indicators.

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