A New Year Message from Ambassador Kunio Hatanaka,
1st January 2011
Happy New Year!
It has been a year since we opened our Embassy in Rwanda last January. I believe the opening of our Embassy has considerable strengthened the relationship between Rwanda and Japan in terms of economic cooperation, cultural exchange, and reciprocal visits of our citizens. The number of the Japanese citizens living in Rwanda has almost tripled since 2006, while the number of Rwandan visitors to Japan has also been increasing. At this occasion, I would like to thank you all for your kind support and cooperation which our Embassy enjoyed last year.
The year 2010 was a memorable year for Rwandans, with President Kagame being re-elected in August. I congratulate His Excellency’s achievement in socio-economic development and national reconciliation, and hope that the Rwandan people will continue benefitting from the fruits of good development. We stand ready to contribute further to Rwanda’s continuous efforts for development, through the enhancement of our economic cooperation activities.
In the sprit of reinforcing our bilateral relations through cultural exchange, we organised a film festival last November, and were nicely surprised to see more than 400 Rwandan students and children attending the two-day event. This year, our Embassy is determined to create more opportunities for such cultural exchange, with the hope that more and more Rwandans will come and familiarize themselves with Japan and Japanese culture.
If you have any suggestions or ideas for the betterment of the Embassy’s activities and friendship of the two countries, please feel free to contact us, as we would always welcome your constructive opinions and imputs.