President Kagame, Touadera discuss bilateral cooperation

President Paul Kagame has met with his counterpart of the Central African Republic (CAR), Faustin Archange Touadéra who is on a working visit to Rwanda.

Rwanda’s Presidency has revealed that discussions between the two heads of state on Thursday, June 8, centered around areas of ongoing bilateral cooperation including collaboration in addressing security challenges in CAR.

President Touadéra was received by Rwanda’s Minister of Interior, Alfred Gasana upon arrival at Kigali International Airport. He last visited Rwanda in October 2022.

Touadéra’s visit comes at a time when Rwanda and CAR maintain robust bilateral and multilateral cooperation, particularly in matters of security. Rwanda has played a crucial role in stabilizing the Central African nation, with its forces serving as one of the largest contributors to the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) since 2014.

In 2020, Rwanda deployed "force protection troops" to CAR under an existing defense agreement.

This deployment was in response to rebel attacks supported by former President François Bozize, which targeted the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) contingent serving under the UN Peacekeeping force.

Touadéra expressed his gratitude, as well as that of the Central African Republic, for Rwanda’s technical and operational support to the Central African Armed Forces during his previous visit.

Both heads of state reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening bilateral ties, with a particular focus on promoting trade, finance, culture, and technical cooperation. In addition to their security collaboration, Rwanda and CAR have previously signed agreements in the areas of defense, mining, oil, and investment promotion.

PM