President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo recently concluded a State visit to Rwanda.

Relations between Equatorial Guinea and Rwanda are set to see better days in the coming months after President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo on July 15, 2014, concluded a two-day State visit to Kigali, the Rwandan capital.

According to the web site of the Rwandan Presidency, the Equatorial Guinean leader and his Rwandan counterpart, Paul Kagame, signed agreements in the areas of governance, air transport and tourism. President Obiang on July 14, 2014, visited the Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre where he paid tribute to the victims of the 1994 pogrom against Tutsis and moderate Hutus and condemned the then genocidal regime for slaughtering its own people.

Responding to questions from reporters, President Obiang Nguema observed that the South-South Cooperation could be more efficient if African nations took practical measures to consolidate synergies for development instead of getting bogged down in bureaucratic requirements.

Emphasizing the need for African nations to defend the integrity of the continent, President Obiang Nguema said: “We should not allow other people to decide what is better for our people. Africa has achieved a lot, but we still have barriers that hinder our development. Lack of a common African voice has allowed people to manipulate and destabilize our continent, we have to put an end to that.”

Talking about how Rwanda has managed to turn around in almost all sectors in such a short period, President Kagame said after the 1994 Genocide, the Rwandan leadership changed policies and the management style so that the people could have dignified lives: “We put the well being of Rwandans ahead and made sure that there was accountability, while raising everyone’s stake in our development. We need to make progress on development that matters to our people,” he concluded.