Rwandan ambassador to Iceland Dr Diane Gashumba Tuesday presented her Letters of Credence to President Guðni Th. Jóhannesson of Iceland. During an official ceremony that took place at Residence of the President of Iceland, Gashumba conveyed greetings of President Paul Kagame and provided President Jóhannesson with an overview of Rwanda’s development progress and a strong commitment to improving the lives of its citizens since the Genocide against the Tutsi in 1994. The ambassador also highlighted the meeting that Rwandan Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Vincent Biruta held with Icelandic counterpart on the sidelines of the Nordic-African Foreign Ministers’ Meeting held in June 2022 in Helsinki, Finland. The meeting focused on opportunities of cooperation between the two countries and covered various themes including peace and security, sustainable development and multilateral cooperation. During the ceremony, President Jóhannesson commended President Kagame's strong conviction towards gender equality and commitment towards a better life for Rwandans. He said this is a common vision between the two countries and both put these visions into action. In September, Rwanda and Iceland signed an MoU on Political consultations. Ambassador Gashumba informed President Jóhannesson that Rwanda is keen on strengthening its relations with Iceland, especially through trade and investment, tourism, fishing and education, and commended Iceland’s global leadership in several of Rwanda’s priority sectors including human rights and gender equality. Jóhannesson and Amb Gashumba pledged their commitment to further developing bilateral relations and strengthening cooperation between the two countries. During her visit to Iceland, Gashumba held several meetings with senior officials at the Icelandic Ministry of Foreign Affairs including Nína Björk Jónsdóttir, Director General, GRÓ – Centre for Capacity Development, Sustainability and Societal Change, Martin Eyjólfsson, Permanent Secretary of State in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Þórður Bjarni Guðjónsson, Director in the Directorate for Development Cooperation, Members of Parliament Arndís Anna Kristínardóttir Gunnarsdóttir, Jódís Skúladóttir, Lilja Rannveig Sigurðardóttir as well as Dr. Jón Atli Benediktsson, Rector of the University of Iceland. The Rwandan Embassy to the Nordic Countries is accredited to Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Iceland.
