Kigali, 19 July 2018
I welcome you, and happy evening.
Mr President, it is an honour to welcome you tonight, and I thank you for accepting our invitation to visit our country, Rwanda.
We have fond memories of the warm Mozambican hospitality we enjoyed during our last visit to Maputo. We hope you and your delegation feel at home, and we are happy that you will be able to visit different parts of our country.
Rwanda and Mozambique have a similar liberation trajectory, as well as a common vision for African integration. Our countries have earned the freedom to chart our own course. It came at a heavy price as we know, as well.
Our responsibility has been to continue the struggle for the prosperity, security, and dignity of our citizens. We are counting on the next generation to sustain these gains and expand upon them.
Our shared work to make the African Union more effective and relevant is part of that. As signatories of the African Continental Free Trade Area, we look forward to trading much more with each other around our continent.
Our teams have also been working together this week to strengthen bilateral cooperation in priority areas. There is no better way to continue our liberation journey than to combine our respective strengths and capabilities, and transform the lives of our people.
In fact, a little earlier I informed the President that we are looking at opening an embassy in Maputo very soon. This will help carry on with the work of strengthening our cooperation.
Once again, Mr President, I welcome you to Rwanda and thank you for taking the time for this visit.
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, as you find your glasses — meaning a glass for a drink — I request you to join me in a toast to the health of His Excellency, President Nyusi, and to the prosperity of the people of Mozambique, of Rwanda, and of Africa.
Thank you.