President Paul Kagame has reaffirmed the strengthening bilateral relations between Rwanda and France, stating that the new chapter in the two countries’ partnership is already delivering positive results.

Kagame made the remarks during a dinner at the Palais de l’Élysée hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron and First Lady Brigitte Macron, following the inauguration of a memorial honoring the victims of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.

“This has been a day of great meaning and promise,” Kagame said. “Rwanda appreciates the steps you have taken. We have chosen to look forward and write a new chapter together, and that choice is already bearing fruit.”

The President noted that France has become an important partner for Rwanda and expressed optimism about further strengthening cooperation across various sectors.

“The ambition is there on both sides. But what matters most is the renewal of trust,” Kagame said. “Today, France is an important partner for Rwanda in investment, technology, climate action, and many other shared priorities. Rwanda looks forward to working with France to deepen our collaboration and expand the opportunities between our two countries.”

The restoration of relations between Rwanda and France has continued to gain momentum since Macron’s historic visit to Kigali in 2021, during which he acknowledged France’s failure to heed warnings about the impending massacres that culminated in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.

According to him, France and its Western and African allies lacked the political will to stop the Genocide against the Tutsi, during which more than one million people were killed.

“This monument, while it is an achievement, is not an end. It is a milestone on a path we have opened,” he stated  on Tuesday at the inauguration of a memorial in Paris honoring the victims of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.