President Paul Kagame Urges African Agency and Denounces Western Exploitation at Africa CEO Forum
At the opening of the Africa CEO Forum in Kigali, Rwandan President Paul Kagame delivered a powerful message calling for the African continent to assert its strategic agency and leverage its vast resources amidst shifting global geopolitics.
Addressing an audience of heads of state, prime ministers, and senior industry executives, Kagame emphasized that while crises are inevitable, Africa must proactively shape its own future rather than remain a passive participant on the global stage.
Central to the President’s address was a sharp critique of foreign powers that he accused of exploiting the continent while simultaneously lecturing African nations.
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Kagame described a global dynamic where powerful nations use coercive tactics, noting that they “are holding a whip in their hands” and are using a stick to beat those they wish to control.
He highlighted the hypocrisy of foreign powers who “come here lecturing people on democracy, human rights and they are doing it in one with one arm and the other they are just taking away everything that people own”.
In response to this, he praised African nations for beginning to reject exploitative mineral deals, stating firmly that African leaders “must be able to say no” instead of waiting to be ripped off by shrewd foreign actors.
Addressing the specific issue of recent United States sanctions against Rwanda related to the geopolitical situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kagame acknowledged their economic impact but remained defiant.
While admitting that sanctions are designed to hurt and indeed do so, he argued that capitulating to unjust demands is far worse. “I think we would be hurt more by not doing what we are doing,” Kagame explained, adding that “it costs more to say yes to the wrong thing”.
He suggested that sanctions are often applied unfairly, favoring those who provide the highest bid or the most resources to foreign powers regardless of who is actually in the wrong.
Kagame questioned why Africa repeatedly finds itself at a disadvantage despite possessing nearly everything necessary for economic dominance.
He pointed out that the continent is home to 60 percent of the world’s solar potential, an abundance of critical minerals essential for battery production, and a rapidly growing human capital that will soon form the world’s largest middle class.
He argued that external geopolitical pressures should serve as a wake-up call, forcing the continent to look inward to solve its challenges and stop losing its resources cheaply.
Shifting his focus to economic development, Kagame lauded the African private sector, affectionately describing business leaders as “hustlers” who actively navigate and overcome barriers created by the public sector.
He admitted that the private sector is currently outperforming the public sector and called for greater collaboration between the two. “If those barriers were not there, the private sector would be far ahead of where they are and along with that the continent also would be ahead of where we are,” he noted, urging government officials to fine-tune their responsibilities to allow businesses to act as the continent’s economic engine.
When asked about the current state of global leadership and the often shocking lack of decorum seen on social media, Kagame stated that the experiences of the last 30 years have left him “immunized” to such shocks.
Instead, he views social media as a democratizing force that allows anyone to express ideas, challenge incorrect information, and break free from narrow conditioning.
The President concluded his remarks with a rallying cry for unity, reminding attendees that “the continent has a lot that is not being put to good use and it is up to us” to raise Africa to the level it deserves.
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