Memorial Ceremony for Shimon Peres, 22 September 2020

A Memorial Ceremony for Shimon Peres today has been organized, and President Kagame participated and delivered the following message. Read below His Message:

Dear family, friends and colleagues of the late President Shimon Peres. On behalf of the people and Government of Rwanda and my own behalf, I am pleased to join in paying tribute to an extraordinary man, a son of the State of Israel, President Shimon Peres, who was also a friend of Rwanda.

President Peres lived a momentous life in service to his country. We remember him for his firm commitment to peace, which he always articulated with wit and grace, despite all the challenges.

We identify with his vision of global collaboration, in pursuit of a brighter future for all our children. Today my thoughts are with the Peres family, as we recall the legacy of this statesman who touched so many hearts, through his example.

We would do well to remember that peace and security are the precondition for human well-being and progress in Israel and throughout the world. As Shimon Peres said: “Peace is not a political choice. It is a basic, historic, and moral choice.”

May the work of the Peres Centre for Peace and Innovation continue to keep President Peres’s ideals alive in the minds of young people for generations to come. (End)