President Paul Kagame of Rwanda joined over 3,500 guests including US Cabinet members, US Congress members, the diplomatic corps in Washington, UN diplomats, & US and foreign business leaders, for the National Prayer Breakfast.
Founded in 1953, the purpose of the National Prayer Breakfast Foundation is to facilitate and execute the National Prayer Breakfast under the leadership of the US Congressional Co-Chairs.
The US annual Breakfast is an opportunity for Members of Congress to pray collectively for the nation, the President of the United States, and other national and international leaders in the spirit of love and reconciliation as Jesus of Nazareth taught 2,000 years ago.
Every president, regardless of party or religious persuasion, has joined since.
Addressing leaders at the National Prayer Breakfast, President Kagame spoke about reconciliation.
“Reconciliation itself comes with a cost, which is why it is often so difficult to achieve. Hundreds of thousands of people deserved to go to jail for life, or even hanged, by any measure of justice.”
“But we had to find a way to repair those people and make them part of society again. We abolished the death penalty. We therefore had to ask the survivors of genocide for the impossible, in order to restore our nation.”
“To swallow their anger and bitterness. To live together again with those who they had watched murder their loved ones, as their own children flourished. I could not ask anything of the perpetrators.”
“Only the survivors had something left to give: Their forgiveness. It is the practice of reconciliation, in matters large and small, which creates and recreates healthy nations, and turns strangers and enemies into a family of citizens. That is Rwanda’s constant work, today and every day.”
Meetings
President Kagame met with Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State of Qatar. They discussed various areas of bilateral cooperation between Rwanda and the State of Qatar.
The Rwandan leader also met with Senator Mike Rounds and Senator Chris Coons for discussions on different areas of collaboration as well as regional and global issues.
