A delegation of Dutch military attachés to different African countries and officials from the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on Wednesday, February 19, visited Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) Headquarters. The visit is part of the ‘Annual Regional Africa Conference for Netherlands Defence Attachés, which is underway in Kigali. The delegates were received by Brig Gen Vincent Nyakarundi, the Head of Defence Intelligence, who briefed them on RDF’s organisation and roles. Brig. Gen. Jan Blacquiere, the Chief of International Military Cooperation at the Ministry of Defence in the Netherlands said the visit could lead to the strengthening of the bilateral cooperation between the Netherlands and Rwanda. “We are really thankful that we got a comprehensive briefing and we now know better the Rwanda Defence Force and what they do. With that information, we can go back to the Netherlands, learn from that and discuss what we could further do for the bilateral cooperation between the Netherlands and Rwanda,” Blacquiere said. On Monday, the delegates paid tribute to the 10 Belgian peacekeepers killed at the onset of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. They also visited the Kigali Genocide Memorial in honour of the over one million victims of the Genocide, on Tuesday.
