Rwanda's Foreign Minister, Louise Mushikiwabo, arrived in Tel Aviv this morning for a two-day official visit to Israel. The trip was planned as a follow up to the recent visit by her Israeli counterpart, Avigdor Liberman, who was on a five-country tour of Africa last month.
On her first day, the Rwandan Foreign Minister held bilateral discussions with Minister Liberman and visited with him the city of Ashkelon bordering the Gaza strip.
In their discussions, both ministers exchanged views on the ongoing conflict and the security situation in the region. Minister Mushikiwabo reiterated Rwanda's position for all stakeholders to work harder for sustainable peace to prevail.
"This visit had been planned for a long time, it so happens that it occurs at a time when there is resurgence of conflict in the region. Even though my country is far from this conflict, I wish to reiterate Rwanda's position to have peace prevail sooner rather than later, to stop unnecessary loss of life." said Minister Mushikiwabo.
Most importantly, it is time for the international community to pay closer attention to the complexities of regional conflicts and fully consider their context. This requires a deeper understanding of underlying difficult issues" she added.
During her visit, Minister Mushikiwabo will meet Shimon Perez, the President of Israel and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, visit Yad Vashem, the Martyrs and Heroes Memorial to the Holocaust, and conclude the visit with a meeting with 130 Rwandan students currently training in Agricultural Sciences near Tel Aviv.