COMESA
	Kenya

 

The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA)

 

5th COMESA Summit (19th May 2000)

Highlights of President Kagame's remarks at a dinner hosted by the President of Mauritius

Vote of Thanks

Your Excellency,

Mr.Cassam Uteem, President of Mauritius,

Prime Minister Ramgoolam,

Excellencies, Heads of State and Government present,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I would like, first of all, to express our gratitude to you Mr. President for the warm welcome and hospitality which has been extended to all of us since our arrival to this beautiful country, Mauritius. We have all been treated with great courtesy and traditional warmth of the Mauritian people, for which we are all grateful. This being my first visit to COMESA since I was entrusted with the responsibilities of the high office as President.

I would also like to extend on behalf of all of us here our very sincere gratitude to President Daniel Arap Moi, for the exemplary leadership of not only his country but also for the way he has personally invested himself in the success of COMESA.

Major decisions were made in Nairobi during the fourth summit of COMESA and have all been followed through under his leadership.

Your excellencies,

As we progress towards ever closer economic integration we shall face obstacles but we should not loose sight of our overall strategic objective, of a dynamic economic community that brings the people of COMESA together and prosperity to our region.

The fate of our continent in the context of a fast-changing world, must inspire us to succeed in our noble task.

The experience of integration in Africa and elsewhere shows that for us to succeed we should all aim for a win-win situation for our countries, perhaps not in the short term, but within a reasonable time. In the longer-term, we are, of course, all beneficiaries.

We are in the midst of a profound revolution of knowledge and technology. There is on-going before us a shift from manufacturing to information- and knowledge-based production. Information and communication technology present the most powerful technological revolution of our time. It is defining the challenges and opportunities for all countries in the future. That must include all of us in COMESA.

For us to benefit from all this, we need to put in place the necessary environment particularly substantial investment in people.

The in-coming chair of COMESA will have all our support in following through President Moi’s mandate on COMESA’s ambitious agenda, as exemplified by the historic decisions taken in Mauritius today and tomorrow.

On my part I would like to pledge Rwanda’s commitment and full cooperation in pursuit of the fulfillment of the principles and objectives of COMESA, notwithstanding the difficulties which Rwanda’s economy is facing due to the many tragedies of previous years.

 

Kenya

Visit of President Arap Moi (12th May 2000)

Joint Communique

At the invitation of His Excellency PAUL KAGAME, President of the Republic of Rwanda, a delegation led by His Excellency DANIEL ARAP MOI, President of the Republic of Kenya visited Rwanda on Friday, 12th May, 2000.

The two Heads of State reviewed bilateral relations between the two countries and agreed to work together to enhance and consolidate the existing ties.

In this regard, the two leaders agreed to establish a joint Permanent Commission for Cooperation between the two countries. They further agreed on the need to re-open the Kenya Embassy in Kigali.

The two leaders also discussed the political situation in the region and agreed on the need to work for peace.

His Excellency President DANIEL ARAP MOI congratulated the people of Rwanda for the efforts they have made in reconstruction of their country since the 1994 genocide.

On behalf of the People of Rwanda, His Excellency President Paul KAGAME expressed gratitude to His Excellency President DANIEL ARAP MOI for his untiring efforts in the search for peace in the Great Lakes Region.

His Excellency President DANIEL ARAP MOI expressed his gratitude for the warm welcome and hospitality accorded to his delegation while in Rwanda. He extended an invitation to His Excellency President PAUL KAGAME to pay a State Visit to Kenya at a convenient time.