By Senior Editor, China Africa News
Kigali-The ruling parties of Rwanda and China have continued to strengthen their longstanding cooperation, this time focusing on preserving Rwanda’s liberation history and enhancing how that history is shared with future generations.
In Kigali, Secretary General of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF-Inkotanyi), Amb. Wellars Gasamagera, welcomed Chinese Ambassador Gao Wenqi along with a team of cultural heritage experts from the National Museum of China and the Chinese Central Academy of Culture and Tourism Administration, marking another step forward in the implementation of a Memorandum of Understanding on Liberation History Preservation and Museum Management agreed between the RPF and the Communist Party of China (CPC).
During their deliberations, both leaders heard detailed briefings from the visiting experts and their Rwandan counterparts from the Rwanda Cultural Heritage Academy, urging them to turn their rich exchanges and technical insights into a practical plan that delivers real outcomes preserving revolutionary legacy and educating the public as a flagship project under the Global Civilization Initiative between China and Rwanda.
The focus of the collaboration is to bring the terms of the MoU off paper and into action by safeguarding key sites and artifacts tied to Rwanda’s liberation journey, strengthening museum leadership and operations, and expanding opportunities for shared training and programming that will make this chapter of history more widely understood and appreciated.
Chinese specialists will work with Rwandan teams on institutional development, curatorial support and professional exchange, while joint educational workshops and outreach efforts are expected to broaden the impact of this initiative among communities and young people alike.
What underpins this cooperation is more than technical assistance it reflects a genuine friendship between the RPF and the CPC that has grown over decades. Born out of struggles for independence and national development, both parties share a belief in the value of strong institutions, people-centered governance and historical memory.
This sense of camaraderie has translated into expanding exchanges in governance, cadre training, party education and cultural preservation, and is further reinforced through global frameworks like the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative, which both sides have pledged to implement together to deepen people-to-people bonds and broader bilateral cooperation.
Ambassador Gao stressed China’s commitment to deepening party-to-party engagement, noting the high level of mutual support and trust that has developed over recent years, and Secretary General Gasamagera expressed appreciation for China’s long-standing support for Rwanda’s development and cultural goals.
Together, they highlighted that this shared work on liberation history is not only a way to honor the past but also a foundation for future collaboration that strengthens understanding, respect and partnership between the two countries.
This phase of cooperation builds on more than half a century of relations since Rwanda and China established diplomatic ties in 1971, a relationship that has steadily expanded from political and economic sectors into cultural and educational domains.
The implementation of the MoU on liberation history preservation and museum management stands as a visible testament to how party-to-party cooperation can evolve into meaningful projects that preserve collective memory, nurture cultural dialogue, and fortify the bonds between Rwanda and China for years to come.
