Paul Kagame Quotes

Listen more to the one who criticizes you and less to the one who praises you. Learn from them and do something about it.

Africa’s story has been written by others; we need to own our problems and solutions and write our story.

We cannot turn the clock back nor can we undo the harm caused, but we have the power to determine the future and to ensure that what happened never happens again.

Let no one think that flexibility and a predisposition to compromise is a sign of weakness or a sell-out.

Aid leads to more aid and more aid and more aid and less independence of the people that are receiving aid.

In Africa today, we recognise that trade and investment, and not aid, are pillars of development.

It is the population which decides when it's time for a leader to leave, not foreign powers.

National security is vital for economic and social progress.

It is the first time in the history of Rwanda that political change in the highest leadership of the country has taken place in peace and security.

I grew up in a refugee camp in Uganda, and I lived there for 30 years. That shapes one's character.

Rwanda is a democracy not a monarchy.

Technology has brought many possibilities in education and health that are key to women.

The history and national interest of Rwanda and the Rwandan people dictate our national orientation.

The West is anything but altruistic.

Rwanda has its own problems and never sought to blame others or cause others trouble. I advise Burundi to do the same.

We've used aid to build capacities so we won't need aid in future.

There are things I admire, for example, about South Korea or Singapore. I admire their history, their development and how intensively they have invested in their people and in technology.

Democracy holds little appeal for people who are struggling to survive.

A strong leader is not necessarily a bad leader.

Strong economic growth, and especially a significant increase in private sector investment, is the only sustainable path forward for Rwanda.

Human rights groups are locked in a fierce competition for big checks from wealthy donors and they need to generate big headlines.

Rwanda is not over needing aid, but we can survive with less aid than before.

Infrastructure is key, but also how it's used, and that's political.

Politics is not only about personal choice. That one also needs to take into consideration what the people want because in the end, they are the ones who decide.

Such problems are not solved in one day but there is a great step toward peace and security in the region.

There are some who are scared by unity and by building a country on the basis of ideas.

Moving container from Kigali to Mombasa used to take 22 days, now it takes 6 days.

I do not want to be cynical, but if developing nations are kept backward by being told, again and again, you belong to the poor and you are there, where you actually belong, then nothing will change.

Reconciliation takes time. Sometimes many decades, as the example of Europe shows. It is hard work.

It is better for a country to have a strong leader, this applies to the United States as well as to Rwanda.

Up to a certain extent the UN soldiers are useful. But they are consuming a lot of resources in relation to the little work they are doing.

The situation in Congo shows nothing for which you could hold Rwanda responsible.

You kept quit... When these victims wanted your help to survive, you kept quit.