🔴🔴 NEISA 2026: REMARKS BY PRESIDENT KAGAME || ENERGY IS THE FOUNDATION OF INDUSTRIAL GROWTH ||

Added: 2026-05-24

[00:00:00]Help me welcome with a warm round of applause His Excellency Paul Kagame, President of the Republic of Rwanda.

[00:00:24]Excellency for President of the Republic of Togo.

[00:00:33]Excellency Samu Hassan and President of the United Republic of Tanzania.

[00:00:44]Excellency, my friend Mahmud Is a former president of the Republic of Niger, former chair of the African Union Commission, my friend Musafaki, Rafael Gi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

[00:01:20]Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, let me begin by welcoming you all to Kari and thank the leaders here present for honoring our invitation and all the work they do for the importance of this topic we are discussing today. In fact, a number of other leaders had intended to be with us but they couldn't make it.

[00:02:07]Either they were here last week or they are in some other places attending to some important assignments.

[00:02:22]I also thank them from the outset.

[00:02:29]Nissa was designed to bring together leaders, experts, and partners to advance Africa's nuclear energy goals.

[00:02:41]The strong participation here today reflects a growing consensus that the future of our economies depends on how quickly we solve the energy challenge.

[00:02:59]Rwanda is pleased to have successfully completed the IA's phase one integrated nuclear infrastructure review.

[00:03:13]We intend to have nuclear energy operational by the early 2030s.

[00:03:22]And this assessment confirms that we are on track.

[00:03:35]For Africa, energy is not simply a development issue.

[00:03:43]It is the foundation of industrial growth and competitiveness.

[00:03:52]Modern manufacturing, mineral processing, digital infrastructure and advanced health care all depend on reliable power.

[00:04:06]The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence and datadriven industries will also significantly increase energy consumption.

[00:04:20]Countries that cannot meet this demand will struggle to compete.

[00:04:31]This is why Rwanda considers nuclear energy a critical component of Africa's long-term transformation.

[00:04:44]As more countries move in this direction, international reviews and regulatory processes should not become barriers but instead offer the necessary support for Rwanda.

[00:05:07]Small modia reactors represent the most practical way forward.

[00:05:17]They are better suited to the realities of most African countries because they can be deployed gradually and integrated into smaller grids at a lower cost.

[00:05:36]Renewable energy will remain indispensable, particularly solar and hydro where Africa has enormous potential.

[00:05:55]But economies cannot function efficiently on intermittent supply alone.

[00:06:08]At the center of this endeavor is the question of investment.

[00:06:14]Too often investors hesitate because they perceive many risks in Africa.

[00:06:27]We must work to strengthen regulation, ensure consistency and accountability in order to build confidence and attract long-term capital.

[00:06:45]The international financing environment is also evolving.

[00:06:51]Nuclear energy is increasingly recognized as part of the clean energy transition and that that creates new opportunities.

[00:07:08]What Africa cannot afford is fragmentation.

[00:07:14]If countries work in isolation, progress will be slow.

[00:07:20]and far more costly.

[00:07:24]Cooperation on regration, financing and regional power integration is essential.

[00:07:35]This is precisely why NSA matters.

[00:07:44]We are moving the conversation beyond ambition to practical coordination and financing mechanisms that can sustain deployment at scale.

[00:08:06]Rwanda will remain and will continue supporting these efforts because this is larger than any one country.

[00:08:25]By 2050, Africa will have the largest workforce in the world.

[00:08:37]The demographic the demographic shift can become one of the greatest economic advantages of this century if we prepare for it.

[00:08:53]In this regard, we are delighted that Togo will host the next NASA and carry forward this continental momentum.

[00:09:26]I also once again wish to thank Rafael Gi for the kind support to this effort and also for the single mindedness with which he has focused matters to do with our continent of Africa and how we can continue moving together forward. I thank you very much for your kind attention.

[00:10:20]Thank you, your excellency. Another round of applause, ladies and gentlemen.

[00:10:27]Your excellency, thank you for a clear and forwardlooking message and of course uh for highlighting the continued momentum as NSA 2027 makes its way to Togo.