Kagame - Africa Must Be Ready for New World Order

Whether or not Africa is ready for a new world order, it must prepare to take its place in it, President Paul Kagame has said.

The Head of State was speaking on Friday, July 4, during a media engagement with journalists on the occasion of the 31st anniversary of Rwanda's liberation.

Reacting to the idea of whether the world is becoming more multipolar and whether Rwanda and Africa are ready for such a transition, President Kagame maintained that the continent should stand ready.

"Whether we are ready or not, we should be ready," Kagame said.

"Well, it may not come, but you should always be prepared for what if it were to come. Suppose I even made a mistake and assume it may not come, why should I not be prepared?"

President Kagame noted that global power dynamics are constantly shifting, and Africa must remain aware and responsive to the changes.

"Personally, as I see it, the world order will always change. It won't remain the same forever. There will be one form of world order today and another the day after, due to many factors. We should be educated by what we see."

The Head of State attributed much of the change to geopolitics and how global actors pursue their interests, often at the expense of others.

"People will tell you, interest. But how do you value your interest and how do you achieve it? Do you achieve it by ignoring other people's interests, or do you value your interests, but as you pursue your interests, it is important that you also care about others' interests? So, that (way) you find common ground, you work together and even form an alliance."

He added that some nations overestimate their ability to impose outcomes unilaterally.

"Sometimes, they think they will achieve their interest anyway, whether they consider you or not. In some cases, they will come to you and say, 'For me, I am powerful enough, I will pursue my interest, and that is it. I will say I want this and if you don't do it, I will blow you away.' That may work sometimes, other times it has certain limitations."

Even small states, Kagame argued, have red lines that cannot be crossed.

"But even the least powerful, like us, there are certain things--even with my insignificance--you can't force me to do. There is no power that can come and ask me to accept FDLR. I will tell you, look for what you would do to me because you are sure I won't accept it," he said referring to the DR Comgo-based terrorist group founded by remnants of perpetrators of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.

He described the global order as "fluid" and "dynamic," shaped not just by emerging powers, but by the alliances they form, and the divisions that follow.

Rwanda keeps trying

"But for our context, it is going to be difficult for me to explain. Because Africa, where we are, is not where we should be. Even more challenging to understand is that we have everything to be where we want to be, except ourselves. Somehow, we are not there to deliver on what we already have in our hands to be transformed into what we should be. We are absent somehow. I can't explain that. I have no medicine for it."

Kagame pointed towards Rwanda's efforts, within its limited means, to prepare for change, while at the same time rallying for broader continental cooperation.

"On a smaller scale, therefore, with Rwanda at least, we are trying within our limited means and resources to be where we want to be. We are on a journey to being what we should be within that limited space."

He added, "If we can work with other African countries, and we try, we can move a needle towards that objective. But it needs more people doing what they need to do. The more we are together doing what we should do, the more likely we get there faster," he said.