All Protocols observed. On behalf of the Rwanda Peace academy, indeed on my own behalf; I wish to welcome you to this workshop on environmental security. I wish in particular to thank the Rwandan Ministry of Defence and the US Africa Command without whose support this conference would not have been possible. I am grateful to you all here present and to your mother organisations for sparing the time to participate in the workshop. The Rwanda Peace Academy recognises that preventing, managing and repairing damage inflicted on the environment by military related activities is as important as preventing or responding to environmentally caused conflicts. We fully appreciate also that human security and the environment cannot be divorced; and that peace and environmental security are intertwined. It is for this reason, Hon. Minister, Ladies and Gentlemen, that we wish to join hands with all those involved in securitizing the environment because in so doing they stand in the way of instability, conflict and unrest. Hon. Minister Sir, I am fully aware that environmental issues are at the heart of the Rwandan Government programs, and that your Ministry prioritises the ability of it various organs to institutionalise arrangements for making environmental security a reality. Equally true, Ladies and Gentlemen, is the fact that our colleagues at the AFRICOM take environmental security as top priority. It is for this reason that I say that this workshop could not have taken place at a better time; in a better place; conducted by better stakeholders. May I, in concluding, reiterate our gratitude to all those that have worked to make this workshop possible. May I also reiterate the fact that the Rwanda Peace Academy, in line with national strategic guidance, views environmental protection as a national security issue and as a development issue to which we are obliged to contribute. We remain committed to working with all those that have legitimately invested in ensuring that our environment is properly managed and protected, hence today’s workshop. With these remarks I wish to thank you all for blessing this day with your presence. It is now, my singular honour, to invite our Guest of Honour, the Honourable Minister of defence to give us his remarks. Hon, Minister Sir!

EK KARENZI

Maj Gen

Director, RPA