BY JIBRIL TURE

On the sideline of the ongoing World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken met today with Rwandan President Paul Kagame. They discussed how to advance efforts to ease tensions in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

Following the meeting, the two officials made a brief statement to the press:

PRESIDENT KAGAME:  Well, (inaudible) to meet you, Secretary of State, given the many things we do together between our two countries, the United States and Rwanda. And the effort United States has put into paying attention and supporting the resolution to the problems we have in our region. So, I’m looking forward to our discussion to see how we can take the further steps and continue more efforts to bring (inaudible) conclusion to the conflict. Thank you.

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Well, thank you very much, Mr. President. I just want to thank you for both taking the time today—also for your hospitality and the great conversations when I had the opportunity to visit Rwanda a year ago. And to your point, we are committed to doing everything we can to support the efforts that are being made—including by Angola, by Kenya—to support (inaudible) peaceful resolution of differences and avoid conflict in the eastern DRC. Very much appreciate the work that’s been done, especially over the last couple of months, and your leadership in trying to find a positive, peaceful way forward. I look forward to discussing that with you today. Thank you again.

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