French President Emmanuel Macron will pay an official visit to Rwanda from May 27 to 28, a senior official in the Foreign Affairs and Cooperation ministry confirmed to APA on Tuesday.
During the visit, Mr Macron will pay tribute to victims of the
1994 genocide at the Kigali Genocide Memorial site.
The memorial is located at Gisozi, a hill overlooking Kigali city where over 280,000 victims of the genocide against the Tutsis and moderate Hutus were laid to rest.
It is expected that President Macron will inaugurate the new
complex hosting the French-Rwanda Cultural Center at Kimihurura, a residential quarter in the Rwandan capital.
The center will also host a big space for concerts and different entertainment activities.
It is expected that the center will offer enough platform for youth to learn the French language and benefit Rwandan artists by promoting their profession.
The building housing the ‘Centre D’Echanges Culturels Franco-Rwandais’ was located near the big roundabout in Kigali leading to Kiyovu.
It was closed down and eventually demolished in 2014 by Kigali municipal officials, citing substandard.
Since coming to power in May 2017, Macron has been engaged in a diplomatic rapprochement with his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame.
Contention over the extent of France’s involvement in the genocide has strained relations between Paris and Kigali for over 27 years.
As a bid to improve ties and French credibility with Rwanda and other African countries, President Macron ordered the
creation of a commission in May 2019 to produce a comprehensive report into the extent of French complicity and involvement in the genocide.
CU/as/APA