Jerusalem, 19 June, 2013

President Kagame today met with President Shimon Peres on the last day of his visit to Israel and said that Rwanda and Israel shared both a similar past experience as well as the determination to recover:

“Our past is loaded with tragedy. As you know, there is nothing we can do to change our past but we can do everything to shape the future.”

President Peres welcomed President Kagame to Israel and expressed his country's interest in strengthening cooperation with Rwanda:“We are very thankful to you for coming. We would be delighted to work with your country and with your people.”

President Kagame also held talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during which they discussed further opportunities for partnerships in the sector of agriculture, energy and education.

Jerusalem, 18 June 2013

On the second day of his three day visit to Israel, President Kagame met with thirty Rwanda students undergoing training offered through the ongoing partnership between the Ministry of Agriculture of Rwanda and Israel.

President Kagame encouraged the students to make the most of their training in Israel:

“Your mission here is to build relationships that will be a foundation that links people of both our nations and to gain the kind of knowledge that will lead to results and transformation in your field.”

The students represented by Ernest Nshimiyimana thanked President Kagame for his leadership and shared their common vision to implement what they have learned by establishing an irrigation project on returning to Rwanda at the end of their studies.

Earlier, President Kagame was guest of honour at an event hosted by Anne Heyman, founder of Agahozo Shalom alongside Yosef Abramowitz, founder of Energiya Global who have partnered to provide renewable energy to Agahozo Shalom Youth Village in Eastern Rwanda.

Jerusalem, 17 June 2013

President Kagame accompanied by Mrs Jeannette Kagame today arrived in Jerusalem, Israel to attend the fifth Israel Presidential Conference. Themed “The Human Factor in Shaping Tomorrow”, this year's Presidential Conference will also mark the 90^th birthday of Israel’s President, Shimon Peres.  Shortly after arrival, President Kagame and Mrs Kagame attended a reception hosted by President Peres alongside former US President William J. Clinton.

During the three-day visit to Israel, President Kagame will visit the Kibbutz Shfayim where he will meet thirty Rwandan students currently in an agriculture training program that is part of a partnership between the Rwandan and Israeli agriculture ministries. The program which focuses on horticulture and irrigation is set grow to over 100 students as part of efforts to strengthen cooperation in one of Rwanda's priority sectors.

Kigali, 15 June 2013

President Kagame today met with print and broadcast editors from various local media houses at an interactive mini-press conference where he discussed local, regional and continental issues.

Concerning Rwanda's 2013/14 budget that was read on June 14 showing Rwanda would be able to finance it by 62.2%, President Kagame said the Eurobond did contribute to a very small percentage but that generally, this was a result of varying efforts to collect enough internal revenues to finance activities in the National Budget.

On the debut $400 million Eurobond, President Kagame said that although Rwanda is driven by ambition, the country found it prudent to ‘chew what it could swallow’ but would aim for a higher bond next time.