Press Releases

Ambassador Arietti To Answer Questions on Rwanda

As the people of Rwanda continue to make progress in rebuilding their homeland since the country's devastating genocide in 1994, the United States is committed to helping them rebuild and achieve greater economic development.

On December 13 at 2 p.m. Kigali time (1200 GMT), join Ambassador Michael Arietti for an online discussion of regional security initiatives, economic growth programs, support for development of democratic institutions and the status of U.S.-Rwanda relations.

Arietti was nominated by President Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to be U.S. ambassador to Rwanda in September 2005, and he presented his credentials to Rwandan President Paul Kagame on December 5. Arietti joined the Department of State in 1973 and most recently was the director of the Office of West African Affairs. During this period, he was directly involved in peace efforts in Liberia and in coordinating American cooperation with the headquarters of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on regional issues. Before joining the Department of State, he served as a Peace Corps volunteer in India.

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The transcript of this webchat will be available on USINFO's Webchat Station ( http://usinfo.state.gov/usinfo/Products/Webchats.html ), where information about upcoming webchats is also available.