On January 23rd, Senator James M Inhofe took it to the floor to talk about the undeniable need for the U.S. to strengthen cooperation with Rwanda under the leadership of President Kagame because of his vision for sustainable development for the continent. From his remarks, Senator Inhofe made it clear that Africa is the next hotspot for American Business Affairs.

In his address, Senator Inhofe who has been in Rwanda on two occasions, expressed that President Kagame should be credited with the transformation that Rwanda has seen since the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. He also pressed on the importance of the United States strengthening its relationship with Rwanda as a strategic gateway to Africa with President Kagame’s appointment as the African Union Chairman, and the reforms that are imminent during his tenure.

Below is the excerpt of Senator Inhofe’s remarks on the floor.

Following Senator Inhofe’s remarks, anticipation of the meeting between  President Trump and President Kagame grew even more.

On Friday, January 26th, on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, both presidents met in an intimate meeting with only few delegates and the press attending the closed meeting for a few minutes. Both presidents had an opportunity to meet and discuss privately in what they both described as an good meeting where they discussed the importance of U.S.-Africa cooperation. In this meeting, President trump congratulated President Kagame on what he has been able to accomplish with Rwanda, and for his appointment to the position of Chairman of the African Union. President Kagame thanked President Trump and his administration for the support that Rwanda has received, and expressed his interest in revamping the African Union and its member states into countries the U.S. is interested in partnering with.

This meeting was a sign that President Trump working with the new Chairman of the African Union could be the turning point for US-Africa relations, and lead to radically positive changes in the way that the United States interacts with Africa.

Here is a link to a short video of their meeting.

Many in the political and news space continue to indicate that the Panafricanist views of President Kagame and his vision for self-reliance for the continent are in line with the “America First” rhetoric of the Trump administration, and that it indicates compatibility for partnership for both leaders.

The Official Readout of the meeting from the White House can be found here

The Official Rwanda Government Press Release can be found here