President of Rwanda Paul Kagame on Sunday was sworn in for his fourth term, in a ceremony marked by pomp and color at the fully packed Amahoro Stadium in Kigali, the capital city.
The oath was administered by Chief Justice Faustin Ntezilyayo at an inauguration ceremony attended by thousands of Rwandans, as well as heads of state and government from countries, including the Central African Republic, Mozambique, Kenya, Ethiopia, Angola, South Sudan, the Republic of the Congo, Togo, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Somalia, Gabon, Zimbabwe, Djibouti, Sudan, Tanzania, Botswana, Madagascar, Lesotho, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, and the Kingdom of Eswatini.
The event was also graced by heads of international and regional organizations, along with dozens of senior government officials from across Africa.
In his inaugural speech, Kagame described the ceremony as a day of renewal and gratitude. Reflecting on Rwanda's progress over the past three decades, Kagame noted that the achievements have surpassed expectations.
Kagame emphasized that the focus now shifts to the future, stating that the past 30 years have been a work in progress. He called the new mandate the beginning of even more hard work.
He pointed to ongoing efforts in areas such as security, health, infrastructure, and youth employment as evidence of Africa taking responsibility for its challenges and offering solutions. This mindset, he noted, is fostering unity and creating positive change across the continent.
About 9 million Rwandans cast their ballots in the presidential election held on July 15. Kagame, representing the ruling Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF), won the election with 99.18 percent of the vote, according to the final results released at the end of last month by the National Electoral Commission (NEC).
His challengers, Frank Habineza of the opposition Democratic Green Party of Rwanda, and Philippe Mpayimana, an independent candidate, garnered 0.50 percent and 0.32 percent of the vote, respectively.
Kagame, who also serves as the chairman of the RPF, has been president since 2000, following his election as the president of the transitional government by ministers and members of parliament after the resignation of then-President Pasteur Bizimungu.
He was re-elected in the 2003, 2010, and 2017 presidential elections.
Kagame sworn in as president of Rwanda for fourth term
The high-quality development of east China's Shandong Province featuring innovation and green development has been providing opportunities to foreigners ranging from business promoters to even internet influencers.
As leader in the country's foreign trade, the coastal province of Shandong has been making consistent efforts to push forward its high-level opening-up.
In the first half of this year, Shandong imported and exported 1.62 trillion yuan (230 billion U.S. dollars) worth of goods, marking a 4.3-percent year-over-year increase, according to the customs data released in mid-July.
The province's export to regions like the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the European Union (EU), South Korea, and Brazil continued growing during the period.
Ryan Norman, an American living in Rizhao City, has been witnessing all the changes for years as Shandong's close economic ties with the world have boosted its development.
By sharing short videos of him wondering in local markets and making dishes in a big wok, Ryan has attracted over one million followers on social media.
"I am Ryan Norman, an American from California. Now I am married with a Rizhao woman. I have been in China for 19 years. I did some business before, but in recent years I've been making short videos. If the weather is good, staying on beach makes me happier. There is a 28-kilometer sunshine seaside track and every summer, we run back and forth along the track," he said.
The high-quality development of Shandong comes together with green development. In 2023, the province generated over 158 billion kilowatt-hours of green power from new energy and renewables, increasing by 21.9 percent year on year and representing 24.4 percent of the total power generated, up 3.6 percent from 2022.
Last year, the province issued a three-year action plan on promoting green and low-carbon high-quality development, as the province is set to pursue a deep integration of culture and tourism.
"As the environment is getting better and better, more locals like to visit our tea tourism cultural park and its good reputation has attracted droves of tourists," said Yan Zaoning, director of a local tea park.
Sebastian Valcic from Germany now works in an innovation zone in Jinan, the provincial capital of Shandong. He said in recent years, he witnessed over 500 enterprises from countries like Germany, France, Finland, and Japan setting branches in the innovation zone, and these changes boosted his confidence in China's high-quality development.
"Thanks to the institutional and mechanism reform of the Jinan Innovation Zone, I, as a German, can have the opportunity to join the investment promotion department of the Jinan Innovation Zone management committee. I am responsible for attracting global investment. Over the recent years, our team has signed over 100 projects. The Jinan Innovation Zone is a national new- and high-tech development zone, a free trade zone, a comprehensive bonded zone, a pilot zone for upgrading development engine, and a sci-tech innovation financial reform pilot zone. The innovation zone has so many institutional innovations and preferential policies for expanding opening-up. Every time we have an investment promotion event, I always want the investors to know how special here is," said Sebastian Valcic, an external liaison officer of the management committee's investment promotion department.
Apart from attracting investment, Sebastian Valcic said his team will also work to connect enterprises so that they can cooperate with potential partners up and down the industrial chain.
"We will introduce companies up and down the industrial chain to the enterprises so that they can connect, communicate, and cooperate with one another," he said.
According to its three-year action plan, Shandong will continue to enhance the quality and level of its trade and investment by enhancing the efficiency of using foreign investment and deepening international economic and trade cooperation.
Shandong high-quality development provides opportunities to international firms, individuals
