4 January 2002
Nairobi — The Rwandan diaspora has pledged to establish a global network for national development, the Rwanda News Agency reported.
During a four-day convention held in Kigali in December, the diaspora committed itself to establishing a strong worldwide, broad-based, well-organised, non-ethnic, non-sexist network, to remain firmly united with the Rwandan leadership in the task of rebuilding the country and to establishing a diaspora bank to contribute to national development, the agency reported on 31 December 2000.
In early 2001, a division within the Rwandan Foreign Affairs Ministry was created to facilitate closer relations between the government and those living abroad. The permanent secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Joseph Mupaboba, told IRIN on Friday that the country had "changed face recently" and that one of the division's aims was to show people how things were changing for the better.
Initiatives such as establishing contact with Rwanda's 15 embassies, writing to members of the diaspora to invite them to visit their homeland and attracting financial investments from diaspora members had been a great success, he said. Other initiatiaves such as facilitating contact between family members and keeping the diaspora informed of up-to-date political and economic trends are ongoing.
At the opening of the Rwandan Diaspora Global Convention, President Paul Kagame called upon Rwandans in the diaspora to form a strong advocacy voice for their motherland stating "this is achieved only if diasporas are effectively organized," the RNA reported. A global network is to be operational within six months with its headquarters in the country's capital, Kigali.
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