Kagame, Ban Ki-moon discuss regional security

President Paul Kagame yesterday met with the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in New York with whom they discussed progress towards peace in the Great Lakes Region.

They also discussed the upcoming visit to Rwanda by the UN chief, according to a statement from the President’s Office.

Kagame “commended the appointment of former Irish President Mary Robinson as Special Envoy to the Great Lakes Region and said the Peace Framework Agreement signed in Addis Ababa in February was evidence of cooperation towards peace in the region”, the statement said.

The UN Secretary General is expected in Rwanda in May to “view and discuss development and economic progress” in the region. He will be accompanied by World Bank President Dr. Jim Yong Kim and Special Envoy to the Great Lakes Region, Mary Robinson. 

Regarding the recent surrender of Congolese General Bosco Ntaganda at the United States Embassy in Kigali, President Kagame said: “We will work to make what the US Embassy needs in relation to Bosco Ntaganda's case happen as fast as possible.”

Secretary General Ban Ki-moon described Gen. Ntaganda's transfer to the International Criminal Court (ICC) as “important for the fight against impunity” and thanked President Kagame for Rwanda's cooperation, the statement added.

Ntaganda, wanted for alleged war crimes in his country, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), turned himself in at the US Embassy in Kigali on Monday, and US diplomats said on Wednesday that a team of ICC officials was on its way to Rwanda to collect the former rebel leader.