Anne Hidalgo, the Mayor of Paris is in Rwanda for the 41st General Assembly of the Association Internationale de Maires Francophones (AIMF), a summit that brings together mayors in the French-speaking countries, municipality authorities disclosed Tuesday.
French senior municipality official; joins over 200 leaders in physical attendance in Kigali, while the rest convene virtually.
Speaking during a visit at Kigali Genocide Memorial where more than 250,000 victims of the Genocide against the Tutsi are laidto rest, Hidalgo said she admire the resilience and strength of the Rwandan people to restore.
“I bow with emotion and humility to the victims and survivors of the genocide,” she said.
Prior to this, Hidalgo also made a stop at the Nyandungu urban wetland Eco-tourism Park.
The park being created on 121.89 Ha is set to provide an urban recreational space, restore the hydrological functioning of the wetland and increase biodiversity, according to officials.
In June 2019, municipality authorities in Kigali (Rwanda) and their counterparts from Paris (France) signed a cooperation agreement to enable officials from the two cities to learn from each other.
Under the agreement, officials from the two cities will benefit from exchanges about best practices in different areas aimed at the promotion of sustainable urban development.
The areas of focus in the agreement include issues of historic archives and memory, protection of the environment, innovation and ICTs, citizen participation, culture and sports, and delivering public services to city residents.
CU/abj/APA