The Russian top diplomat arrived in Rwanda this Sunday, from North-Korea, where he was holding discussions with the country’s leader Kim Jong-un.
The two leaders reviewed the bilateral relations between the two countries and held discussions on developing military and technical cooperation, and on the possible supply of Russian air defense systems to the country.
“We indeed have fairly good cooperation in the military and technical sphere. The Rwandan security forces, army and law-enforcement agencies operate our helicopters. There are also Ural vehicles used by the army and the security service and a whole bunch of small arms. Now the deliveries of air defense systems are being discussed,” Lavrov said at a press briefing.
“Last year, an inter-governmental commission for military and technical cooperation was set up. It held its first session in Kigali in the autumn of 2017 to map out concrete ways of developing interaction in this sphere. The second session is planned for the autumn of this year in Moscow,” Lavrov added.
Russia and Rwanda have good prospects for developing cooperation in this sphere, Lavrov noted.
Lavrov also addressed the economic cooperation between two countries.
“We have various projects being implemented in particular areas, in some areas we will have to transform the agreements into concrete steps. Particularly, I mean the area of cooperation on the peaceful use of nuclear energy,” he said
The Russian foreign minister also added that there is mutual interest in the development of cooperation in such areas as agriculture, medicine, mining and geological exploration.
Rwandan Foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo, in turn, said that Rwanda was prepared to link the East-Africa region with Russia, whether it be in Politics or Economics. Mushikiwabo said that Rwanda is prepared to be a channel between East-African countries and Russia
She also noted that Russia could play a crucial role in peacekeeping on the African continent.
“Rwanda wishes to collaborate more with Russia especially in fostering peace and security on the continent. We believe that Russia could play a crucial role, particularly in peacekeeping in Africa,” Mushikiwabo stated.
Mushikiwabo also stressed that Lavrov’s visit to Rwandais an important step in relations between the two countries.
“We had the opportunity to work together before. This visit marks an important step in our bilateral relationship. We have agreed that we will see more of each other in each other’s capitals, and we will also be organizing a presidential visit,” she added.
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