Minister Vincent Biruta's Closing Remarks | National Security Symposium 2024 - video Dailymotion

Watch Minister Vincent Biruta's Closing Remarks | National Security Symposium 2024 - IGIHE on Dailymotion

Transcript

00:00Honourable Ministers, the Chief of Defence Staff, Service Chiefs, Excellencies, Ambassadors

00:11and High Commissioners, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Rwanda, Commandant of

00:17the RDF Command and Staff College, General Officers and Senior Officers, Distinguished

00:25Guests, it is my honour to preside over the closing ceremony of yet another successful

00:33National Security Symposium under the theme Contemporary Security Challenges, the African

00:40Perspective. Let me start by thanking all the speakers and participants for honouring

00:48this event with their presence and for actively participating in the different sessions. I

00:55would like to also commend the Rwanda Defence Force, the University of Rwanda and the Rwanda

01:02Convention Bureau for the planning and execution of this symposium. We are appreciative of

01:10your efforts to organise this enriching conference. Distinguished participants, engaging in an

01:19exercise of this nature is vital to contributing to solutions to our common threats. These

01:27discussions allow us to harness our strengths and pull together our efforts in addressing

01:34these challenges. In addition, the different backgrounds of panellists and participants

01:41in this symposium reflect our strong engagement to tackle security challenges and ensuring

01:49the safety for our populations. It is my hope that our diverse perspectives will inform

01:57our course of action to find practical and sustainable solutions to the issues at hand.

02:06Transforming ideas into actions is always the biggest challenge we face. There are no

02:12miracle drugs to a given crisis or problem. Rather, we must adopt a multidimensional and

02:21holistic approach at solving them, focusing on addressing the root causes before the consequences.

02:29It is my conviction that this symposium has addressed a good portion of the security challenges

02:37affecting our times and our continent in particular. There is also no doubt that we have extracted

02:45valuable lessons that will guide our various actions in our various responsibilities.

02:53Allow me to highlight a few key takeaways of this symposium. We have noted that the

02:59world is becoming increasingly divided, yet security challenges we face know no boundaries.

03:08We have also noted that there is a need to collectively redefine our aspirations and

03:14approaches, otherwise we are likely to create a future that supports our assumptions and biases.

03:23Last but not least, as a people, we need to identify and focus on the essentials – security,

03:31dignity and opportunity for all. I thank you for the wake-up call. And as I close, allow

03:41me also to thank once again the leadership of the RDF and the University of Rwanda for

03:49organising this important event. You have truly opened up a debate that I hope will

03:55feed into our individual and collective reflection. I thank you for your kind attention, and I

04:02wish you all a safe journey to your respective destinations, and hereby declare this symposium closed.