The Amir HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani and President of Rwanda Paul Kagame honoured the winners of 4th edition of HH Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani InternationalAnti-Corruption Excellence Award in a ceremony at Kigali Convention Centre.

The Amir of Qatar and the Rwandan president honored Dr Maria Krambia-Kapardis from Cyprus and  Dr Alban Koci from Albania who won in the Academic Research and Education Category, Jean Jacques Lumumba from the Democratic Republic of Congo and  International Youth Musicians Association won the Youth Creativity and Engagement Category, Elnura Alkanova and SEMA won for their Innovative work and Kenneth Kaunda for the Lifetime Achievement award.

The United Nations Special Advocate for the Prevention of Corruption and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption Center (ROLACC) HE Dr Ali bin Fetais al-Marri hailed the continued support of the Amir to the United Nations to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

In a speech, Dr Marri said this support stems from the Amir’s belief in the importance of the justice and the rule of law in building civilisations.

Dr Marri referred to the past civilisations, starting from the Greek civilisation, to the Roman civilisation, the Islamic civilisation and then the Renaissance of Europe which were all established on the basis of justice and the rule of law, noting that those civilisations ended only when they were unable to implement justice and respect the rule of law.

Dr Marri highlighted the prominent role carried out by Rwandan President Paul Kagame in transferring his country, within 15 years, from a country suffering from civil wars and famine to the eighth developing economy in the world.

Addressing the Rwandan President, Dr Marri added, “You have fought corruption and so you have made a strong economy in which growth continues ... You have fought corruption and so you have been able to bring in a foreign investor looking for a state of law that preserves his rights from influential people. You have made the Rwandan miracle”.

The award ceremony was attended by Chairperson of the African Union Commission Moussa Faki, FIFA President Gianni Infantino, UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, and from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime John Brandolino, and a number of members of the Supreme Committee and the Advisory Council choosing the award winners and a number of international personalities.