Foreign relations of Rwanda
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates
Template:Sidebar with collapsible listsRwanda has diplomatic relations with most members of the United Nations and with the Holy See.
Accepting refugees
Rwanda has accepted tens of thousands of refugees from neighboring African countries like Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Somalia and South Sudan.<ref name="nyt">Template:Cite news</ref> It has also accepted hundreds of African refugees from Israel and Afghan schoolgirls.<ref name="nyt"/>
As of 2015, Rwanda hosted 75,000 Burundian refugees according to UNHCR. When credible reports surfaced that Rwanda recruited and trained Burundi refugees including children to remove Burundian President Nkurunziza, Rwanda announced to relocate Burundian refugees to third countries.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Since September 2019, Rwanda has also taken in Libyan refugees and asylum-seekers, operating a refugee center at Gashora, Rwanda, which houses up to 700 refugees from eight African countries (Eritrea, Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Chad and Cameroon) and is financed by UNHCR until 31 December 2023.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In 2021 Denmark signed a deal to establish an asylum center in Kigali, and since April 2022, the UK has sought to shift its asylum responsibilities, considering Rwanda a safe third country by offering 120 million pounds in economic development programs in return for accepting refugees.<ref name="nyt"/>
Diplomatic relations
List of countries which Rwanda maintains diplomatic relations with:
Bilateral relations
Several west European and African nations, Canada, People's Republic of China, Egypt, Libya, Russia, the Holy See, and the European Union maintain diplomatic missions in Kigali.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
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| Template:Flag | See Bangladesh-Rwanda relations
Both countries established diplomatic relations on 12 January 1984<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In 1994 Bangladesh provided roughly 900 peace-keeping troops, including soldiers and medical personnel, to Rwanda to aid in keeping the peace during the Rwandan genocide, one of more than 40 countries to do so.<ref>Grünfeld, Frederik; Huijboom, Anke (2007). The Failure to Prevent Genocide in Rwanda: The Role of Bystanders. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. pp. 58, 208, 214.</ref> | |||
| Template:Flag | See Belgium-Rwanda relations
Belgium was the colonial power, administering the League of Nations mandate in Ruanda Urundi from 1922 until their independence in 1962. See Ruanda-Urundi. During the 1994 Genocide, 10 Belgian Peacekeepers were murdered while trying to protect then-Prime Minister Agathe Uwilingiyimana.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |
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Burundi and Rwanda have always had diplomatic relations as the two were very closed linked kingdoms and their political relations can date back to the year 1091, when the Kingdom of Rwanda was founded, the two kingdoms always had close relationships and even political alliances between the two monarchies. In the modern era, the two states dispute sections of border on the Akanyaru and the Kagera/Nyabarongo rivers, which have changed course since the 1960s, when the boundary was delimited; cross-border conflicts among Tutsi, Hutu, other ethnic groups, associated political rebels, armed gangs, and various government forces persist in the Great Lakes region.
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| Template:Flag | See China–Rwanda relations
China and Rwanda established diplomatic relations on 12 November 1971.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |
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In 1996, Rwandan forces invaded Democratic Republic of the Congo (then Zaire), leading to the replacement of the Congolese president, Mobutu Sese Seko with Laurent-Désiré Kabila. In 1998, Rwanda, along with Uganda, invaded DRC to back rebels trying to overthrow Kabila. After the Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement of 1999, Rwandan troops pulled back. On 6 August 2009, Rwandan President Paul Kagame met with the Democratic Republic of the Congo's President Joseph Kabila in Goma.<ref name="Kagame and Kabila restore ties" /> It was the first presidential meeting between the two countries for 13 years.<ref name="'New era' for DR Congo and Rwanda" /><ref name="Kagame and Kabila restore ties" /> The presidents "reviewed all issues of common interest",<ref name="Kagame and Kabila restore ties">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |
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}}</ref> One month previous to the meeting both countries had appointed ambassadors to each other's capitals.<ref name="Kagame and Kabila restore ties" /><ref name="'New era' for DR Congo and Rwanda" /> Since the 2010s, the DRC has accused Rwanda of supporting the M23 movement in the Kivu region, which Rwanda denies. In January 2025, the DRC severed diplomatic ties with Rwanda amidst the M23 campaign and ongoing Democratic Republic of the Congo–Rwanda conflict. | |
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As a result of French complicity before, during and after the genocide, with the genocidaires (that is, those who committed the genocide),<ref>"Rapport Duclert: La France, le Rwanda et le Génocide des Tutsis</ref> Rwanda cut off relations with France at the end of the war, and replaced French with English as an official language. Relations were resumed in November 2009. Nicolas Sarkozy visited Kigali in February 2010.<ref>"On Visit to Rwanda, Sarkozy Admits ‘Grave Errors’ in 1994 Genocide". 25 February 2010. The New York Times.</ref> in 2016, A French court ordered the re-opening of the case investigating the fatal plane crash that killed Rwandan president Juvénal Habyarimana in 1994.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The move angered administration in Ghana. The National Commission for the Fight Against Genocide (CNLG) issued the names of French military 22 officers<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> requested for depositions. The officers were station in France during the 1994 Turquoise safe zone operation. | |||
| Template:Flag | See Germany–Rwanda relations
Both countries established diplomatic relations on 13 February 1963<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |
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| Template:Flag | See India–Rwanda relations
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| Template:Flag | See Israel-Rwanda relations
In 1962, Israel was the second country to recognize Rwanda's independence. In 1973 the relations were severed and restored in October 1994 after the Rwandan genocide.
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| Template:Flag | Both countries established diplomatic relations on 11 June 1965<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
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| Template:Flag | See North Korea–Rwanda relations | |||
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| Template:Flag | See Rwanda–Spain relations
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| Template:Flag | See Rwanda-Tanzania relations
Both countries established diplomatic relations on 7 January 1965 when accredited first Ambassador of Rwanda to Tanzania (resident in Kampala) Mr. Musabyimana Malachie<ref name="Tanzania. Protocol Division"/> | |||
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| Template:Flag | See Rwanda–United Kingdom relations
Rwanda established diplomatic relations with the United Kingdom on 1 July 1962.<ref name="britain"/>Template:Failed verification
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}}</ref> Both countries share common membership of the Commonwealth, and the World Trade Organization. Bilaterally the two countries have a Development Partnership.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |
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| Template:Flag | See Rwanda–United States relations |
See also
References
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