Saturday, The 1^st of June 2019, The City of Kigali hosted the 7^th platform of Mayors of french speaking cities from Burundi, Rwanda, and Democratic Republic of Congo.

The 7^th platform of the sub-region of the French-speaking cities preceded the 89th Bureau of the International Association of Francophone (AIMF) Mayors that took place on Monday, June 3, 2019 in Kigali.

The theme of the meeting was “Memory and Living together”

In his opening remarks, The Minister for Local Government, Anastase Shyaka, has urged mayors from regional cities in Burundi, Rwanda, and the DR Congo to serve as a bridge to promote regional peace and cooperation.

He said “For us, the francophone space is a space for human values of peace, friendship, and openness to development. These are precious values for Rwanda,”.

The Mayor of Kigali City, Marie Chantal Rwakazina also emphasised on building peace and cooperation more than anything else.

She said “With the choice of this theme we hope that at this general meeting we will have developed strategies to enhance peace promotion through dialogue initiatives with the lead of women and youth from the Great Lakes region.”

The Mayor of Bukavu who is the current president of ‘Plateforme des Autorites Locales des Pays des Grands Lacs (PALPGL)’Mr Meschac Bilubi said members of the group are well mobilised to serve as agents of peace and people-centred cooperation in the region.

“We are all here from all corners of the region and well mobilised for this cause and we are determined to make living together a reality.”

The platform of regional French-speaking local mayors in the Great Lakes region is made up of sixteen mayors; including those from Rwanda’s Kigali, Rubavu, and Rusizi, DRC’s Kinshasa, Goma, Bukavu, Béni, Butembo, Uvira, Bunia, Kisanganai, Lubumbashi, Kalemi, as well as Burundi’s Bujumbura, Gitega, and Ngozi.

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