PM Dr Justin Nsengiyumva delivering speech t the Gala
Washington D.C. — Rwanda’s Prime Minister, Dr. Justin Nsengiyumva, has told global leaders that Rwanda’s steady progress in wildlife conservation demonstrates how environmental protection can drive both peace and prosperity across Africa.
Speaking on behalf of President Paul Kagame at the 2025 International Conservation Caucus Foundation (ICCF) Gala Dinner, Dr. Nsengiyumva said conservation has been “at the heart of Rwanda’s national development strategy for the past three decades.”
The high-profile gala — hosted at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington, D.C. — convened over 200 influential figures, including members of the U.S. Congress, Cabinet officials, business executives, and conservation advocates.
The Prime Minister highlighted Rwanda’s homegrown initiatives such as Kwita Izina, the annual gorilla naming ceremony launched 20 years ago, which has become a symbol of successful community-led conservation.
“For a while, mountain gorillas were so critically endangered that it looked like they might soon be extinct,” he said. “Today, thanks to our conservation efforts, the population has rebounded to over 1,000 — a fourfold increase.”
He also pointed to the transformation of Akagera National Park, restored through a public-private partnership with African Parks.
Since its handover fifteen years ago, Akagera’s wildlife population has more than doubled, and the park has become financially self-sustaining.
Lions were reintroduced in 2015 after being wiped out during the 1994 genocide, followed by both black and white rhino translocations — the latter being the largest single rhino airlift in history.
Dr. Nsengiyumva credited this success to community participation.
“The people surrounding these parks have become the frontline defenders of wildlife in Rwanda because we make sure they benefit directly from conservation,” he noted.
The Prime Minister reaffirmed Rwanda’s role in continental leadership on conservation, referencing the Kigali Call to Action for People and Nature, adopted by African leaders in 2022.
The initiative has since inspired new partnerships such as the Africa Keystone Protected Area Partnership, linking conservation with innovation, bio-prospecting, and advanced wildlife monitoring technologies.
On regional stability, Dr. Nsengiyumva underscored that Africa’s parks “cannot be used by terrorist groups or criminal organizations to create insecurity.”
He expressed Rwanda’s gratitude to former U.S. President Donald Trump for “outstanding leadership” in facilitating regional peace, citing the Washington Peace Agreement, which includes provisions for cross-border cooperation with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in tourism and conservation.
He also welcomed the newly established U.S. Foundation for International Conservation, which he said could anchor regional peace through sustainable growth opportunities.
The Prime Minister praised long-time conservation champion Rob Walton for his support to Africa, notably his role in founding the African Conservation Academy in Rwanda’s Akagera National Park — a new regional training hub for conservation professionals.
“Tonight’s gathering shows that when we work together, we can create a better future for our children and our planet,” Dr. Nsengiyumva concluded.
