President Paul Kagame on Thursday, May 29, participated in the opening of the Astana International Forum, alongside his host, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan, and President Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova of North Macedonia.

President Kagame arrived in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, on May 27, for an official visit, during which he was expected to also deliver remarks at the Astana International Forum, an international and regional platform for dialogue and a non-profit organization headquartered in Astana, Kazakhstan.

At the opening of the forum, the President shared Rwanda’s experience during and after the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.

He said: "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.

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"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.”

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Rwanda and Kazakhstan on Wednesday, signed key agreements strengthening cooperation in diplomatic and political consultations, ICT, education, agriculture, finance, and mining areas.

President Kagame also visited the country’s National Space Center, exploring opportunities for collaboration in space technology.