The agreement was signed in a formal ceremony at the High Commission of Bangladesh in New Delhi on 12th January 2023, by Ms Jacqueline Mukangira, High Commissioner of Rwanda to the People’s Republic of Bangladesh with residence in New Delhi, and Mustafizur Rahman, the High Commissioner of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh accredited to India.
The signed BASA has created a basis upon which, airlines of the two countries can operate air transport services, which is the fastest mode of transport, that can facilitate the movement of people, cargo and mail, in the context of strengthening business bonds and promoting tourism between Rwanda and Bangladesh.
The signing of this agreement followed consultations of officials of Civil Aviation Authorities and diplomatic interactions between both countries.
The agreement is expected to contribute enormously to the economic growth of both countries, and notably provide the Rwandan private sector with access to a market of more than 160 million people.
Rwanda and Bangladesh are also still negotiating various agreements that will bring their bilateral cooperation to greater heights.
High Commissioner Mukangira is representing Rwanda in five countries namely; India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Nepal. Within the jurisdiction, Rwanda has already entered into Bilateral Air Service Agreements with India, Sri Lanka and Maldives.
Rwanda and Bangladesh have been enjoying good diplomatic relations since 2012.
Both countries are among the biggest troop contributors to the UN peacekeeping Missions.
Former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, now serving as facilitator for the East African Community (EAC) peace process in the eastern DRC, met M23 leaders in the Kenyan coastal city of Mombasa on Thursday, where the rebel leaders also agreed to adhere to a strict ceasefire.
“They further agreed to continue to respect and cooperate with the East African Regional Force that has now begun to take control of the areas vacated by the M23,” Kenyatta said in a statement issued Thursday evening.
The M23 rebel group emerged from inactivity in late 2021 and has since captured swathes of territory in North Kivu province, with hundreds of thousands of people fleeing in fear.
M23 rebels have also advanced toward Goma, the provincial capital, in recent months.
On Dec. 23 last year, M23 announced its withdrawal from Kibumba, a town about 20 kilometers from Goma, a commercial hub of over 1 million people, which it had briefly overrun in 2012.
The rebel leaders, in their Mombasa meeting, agreed to continue to respect and cooperate with the East African Regional Force that has now begun to take control of the areas vacated by the M23, a process in line with the decision of an extraordinary meeting of the EAC Chiefs of General Staff on Nov. 8 in Bujumbura, the commercial capital of Burundi.
“The meeting noted that the situation in the North Kivu, which was the most volatile in the conflict in the entire eastern DRC, had achieved progress with increased stability and security over the past four weeks,” Kenyatta said, adding that many people who had previously been displaced from their homes have now begun to return.
The M23 leaders urged Kenyatta to help ensure that there is safety in the DRC and that citizen rights are upheld and recognized, and that all the local and foreign armed groups fighting in the eastern DRC also lay down their arms, cease any fighting or attacks on the M23 and seek resolution of the conflict through peaceful means, the statement said.
The pledge was made by the country’s ambassador in DRC, Oliver Schnakenberg after holding talks with Azarias Ruberwa who once served as the Vice President of DR Congo.
Ruberwa is among Banyamulenge activists that have been denouncing killings of Tutsis in DRC and violence against them.
“Stopping the hate speech against Rwandophones and the witch hunt against Rwandophones in DRC! I assured Honorary Vice President Ruberwa of my support and solidarity with the Banyamulenge,” reads a tweet by Germany Embassy.
Hate speeches against Kinyarwanda-speaking communities have been going on for quite some time in DRC where politicians claim that they are Rwandans who must return home.
On 26th May 2022, Police Commander in Northern Kivu was heard mobilizing citizens to take machetes to fight the enemy alluding to the aforementioned ethnic group.
Some Rwandophones have been killed at different times, while others were abused and saw their properties set on fire after the resumption of fighting by M23 rebel group demanding DRC to respect peace accords signed in 2013.
In some territories including Maniema, Tutsis have been hunted for long over being Rwandophones until Congolese killed some of them of torture, chopped off their ears and reproductive organs.
The United Nations recently warned of possible genocide against Kinyarwanda-speaking communities in DRC over the country’s continuous propagation of hate speeches and violence against the ethnic group.
Rwandophones who make up 5% of Congolese population mainly live in Northern and Southern Kivu Province.
Çavuşoğlu was hosted at Urugwiro Village in the afternoon of Thursday 12th January 2023 after holding talks with Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Vincent Biruta.
Rwanda’s presidency has revealed that their discussions revolved around ways to strengthen existing partnerships between Rwanda and Türkiye.
Meanwhile, discussions between both countries’ Ministers of Foreign Affairs were characterized by the signing of three new cooperation agreements in the fields of General Cooperation, Science and Technology Cooperation as well as Cultural Cooperation Agreements to cement existing bilateral ties.
Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has via Twitter handle revealed that he conveyed best wishes from Recep Tyyip Erdoğan to President Kagame during their meeting on Thursday.
Rwanda and Türkiye enjoy vibrant relations and are connected through daily flights operated by Turkish Airlines.
Both countries’ bilateral trade volume increased nearly fivefold from US$31 million in 2019 to US$178 million in 2022.
Today, Rwanda registers Turkish investments worth over US$500 million in the fields of manufacturing, construction and hospitality among others.
Some of mega projects executed by Turkish firms include the construction of Kigali Convention Centre, BK Arena and the ongoing renovation of Amahoro Stadium.
After holding talks with Dr. Biruta, Minister Çavuşoğlu commended Rwanda’s development pace despite its dark history which he was taken through during his visit to Kigali Genocide Memorial.
He highlighted that he held productive discussions with his counterpart of Rwanda on many issues of bilateral relations engagements in the economy, investment, energy, defence, culture and education.
“With the general cooperation we have just signed, we will form a joint permanent commission which will be another mechanism where the two countries can assess all aspects of engagement,” he said.
Rwanda and Türkiye have enjoyed diplomatic relations since 1980 and opened diplomatic missions in Ankara and Kigali in 2013 and 2014, respectively.
The two suspects identified as Gregoire Noheli alias Arafati, and Isidore Bikorimana alias Shalom, both aged 48, were arrested on Wednesday, January 11, in a house located in Gitaramuka Village, Gakamba Cell in Mayange Sector, where they were at the time printing counterfeit US100 dollar bills.
Superintendent of Police (SP) Hamdun Twizeyimana, the Police spokesperson for the Eastern region, said that Noheli and Bikorimana had locked themselves the house for many hours during the day, which raised suspicion of likely foul-play, prompting residents to call the Police.
“The two suspects were found inside the house while printing fake dollar bills in the denominations of US100. At the time, they were in final stages of cleaning the counterfeit notes totaling to US100,000 dollars,” SP Twizeyimana said.
One of the suspects, Noheli, told the Police that he smuggled the papers into Rwanda from DR Congo about two years ago, and has since been looking for someone to help him turn them into counterfeit money.
“Noheli hooked up with Bikorimana recently, devised the whole criminal plan but thanks to residents through neighborhood watch, whose suspicions helped the Police to foil the act and to arrest them red-handed,” SP Twizeyimana said.
Noheli and Bikorimana along the exhibits, were handed over to RIB at Nyamata station for further legal process.
Normally, such scammers target unwitting members of the public especially at financial institutions and commercial buildings, claiming to be exchanging dollars at an attempting rate.
Others make their prey believe that they are not in position to exchange such big monies. If the person falls for their trick, he or she is made to leave something of high value with them as security and that will be the last time the scammers will be seen.
Article 269 of law No 68/2018 determining offenses and penalties in general, states that any person, who fraudulently counterfeits, falsifies or alters coins or bank notes which are legal tender in Rwanda or abroad, notes issued by the Treasury with its stamp or brand, either banknotes or alike that have legal tender in Rwanda or abroad, or one who introduces or issues in Rwanda such effects or notes with knowledge that they are forged or falsified, commits an offence.
Upon conviction, he/she is liable to imprisonment for a term of not less than five years and not more than seven years.
The trade fair which resumed this year is taking place from 11th to 15th January 2022 in Utrecht City.
Rwanda is represented by different institutions including Rwanda Development Board (RDB) and RwandAir as well as tour operators namely; Mist Rwanda Safaris, Kingfisher Journeys, Judith Safaris and Silverbird Tours.
The first day of the exhibition was dedicated for Business to Business interactions where travel professionals came together for networking, inspiration and information on the latest trends and developments in travel and to do business as well.
From Thursday 11th to 15th January, participants including Rwandan companies will have opportunities to bring their brand to limelight.
Vakantiebeurs is an annual travel event in the Netherlands that serves as a platform bringing together locals, travel providers, travel professionals, destinations and consumers all under one roof.
Rwanda is among 94 countries participating this year. Over 100,000 visitors and 12,000 professional travelers are expected to participate in the trade fair which brought together more than 1000 exhibitors.
On the first day of the exhibition, IGIHE spoke with Rwanda’s Ambassador to the Netherlands, Olivier Nduhungirehe who shed light on the significance of Rwanda’s participation.
“Rwanda started attending the fair in 2011. It is important for the country to showcase tourism offerings in this internationally known trade fair which brought together representatives from 94 countries this year.
“Rwanda as a country that is promoting itself as a touristic destination is attending this trade fair to promote our attractions. We have several attractions including volcanoes, gorillas, Nyungwe National Park with its primates, Akagera National Park and many more. We have seen in the past years how revenues have been increasing steadily except the Covid-19 period where we experienced a drop,” he said.
“This is an opportunity for Rwanda to continue showcasing our tourism. We are here with the Rwanda Development Board which is in charge of tourism and a number of tour operators working in the touristic sector to explain what we offer so that they can visit Rwanda,” added Nduhungirehe.
Philbert Ndandali, Emerging Tourism Analyst and Tourism Promotion at RDB who attended the exhibition told IGIHE that it is a good platform to create linkages between tour operators and lure tourists into Rwanda.
He disclosed that the trade fair will help the country to enhance speedy recovery of the tourism sector in the post Covid-19 period.
On Thursday 12th January 2022, Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu who is on a visit to Rwanda held talks with his counterpart , Dr. Vincent Biruta.
Çavuşoğlu participated in the talks after visiting Kigali Genocide Memorial located in Gisozi where over 250,000 victims of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi are laid to rest.
Minister Biruta said that both countries enjoy fruitful cooperation through the signed agreements.
He disclosed that both countries have already signed 21 agreements as at today morning in different areas including trade, investment, security, defence, education, visa exemption, culture and diplomacy.
Dr. Biruta commended Türkiye for continuous support to Rwanda where it has 250 students studying in the country of whom 81 benefit from Turkish scholarship.
He also appreciated the booming bilateral trade volume which increased nearly fivefold from US$31 million in 2019 to US$178 million in 2022.
Today, Rwanda registers Turkish investments worth over US$500 million in the fields of industry, construction and hospitality among others.
Some of mega projects executed by Turkish firms include the construction of Kigali Convention Centre, BK Arena and the ongoing renovation of Amahoro Stadium.
Minister Biruta said that both countries have committed to strengthen cooperation and signed three new agreements in General Cooperation, Science, Technology and Innovation as well as Culture.
On his part, Minister Çavuşoğlu commended Rwanda’s development pace despite its dark history which he was taken through during his visit to Kigali Genocide Memorial.
He highlighted that he held productive discussions with his counterpart of Rwanda on many issues of bilateral relations engagements in the economy, investment, energy, defence, culture and education.
“With the general cooperation we have just signed, we will form a joint permanent commission which will be another mechanism where the two countries can assess all aspects of engagement,” he said.
Rwanda and Türkiye enjoy vibrant relations and are connected through daily flights operated by Turkish Airlines.
The incident happened in the evening of Wednesday 11th January 2022 as the woman went to open a gate for her husband to move his car to the parking.
The executive secretary of Nyamabuye Sector, Jean Claude Nshimiyimana has said that the husband was returning home along with his wife who stepped out of the car to open the gate.
As the husband drove the car in a reversal gear, he experienced brake failure and hit the gate’s pillars made of bricks which collapsed on Ishimwe.
Nshimiyimana has disclosed that the woman was rushed to Kabgayi Hospital but died along the way.
Rwanda has been expressing concerns over the FDLR terrorist group formed by individuals responsible for the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi that continues to spread genocide ideology and threaten security in the region.
Rwanda maintains that it can’t engage in talks with the terrorist group but established an arrangement for reintegration of its combatants repatriating voluntarily while those who committed crimes are brought before courts.
Since M23 rebel group resumed fighting with Congolese Army (FARDC) towards the end of 2021 over DRC’s failure to implement peace accords signed in 2013, the country formed a coalition with FDLR.
Last year, the coalition of FARDC and FDLR shelled Rwandan territory at different times, destroyed properties and injured people in Musanze District as revenge to Rwanda which is accused of supporting M23.
However, Rwanda has repeatedly denied the allegations and urged DRC to solve internal problems without dragging it into its mess.
Despite the situation, DR Congo continues to sanitize FDLR calling its members ‘ordinary refugees’ that need talks with Rwanda to return home.
During a press conference held on Wednesday 11th January 2023, Congolese Minister of Higher Education, Muhindo Nzangi Butondo said that the country would have no problems, had Rwanda engaged in negotiations with FDLR.
He was alluding to the speech of President Paul Kagame delivered this week at the parliamentary building highlighting that DRC did not show willingness to bring back its citizens who fled to Rwanda more than 20 years ago.
Muhindo said that Rwanda should not talk about Congolese refugees without holding talks with FDLR.
“He has no power to talk about the issue of refugees because he refused to engage in talks with brothers from FDLR who have been in the Democratic Republic of Congo for many years. We would not be having problems in eastern DRC, had he agreed to initiate negotiations with them, ” he said.
DRC has taken a stand to advocate for and sanitize FDLR yet the international community has labeled it as a terrorist group.
The latest report by the United Nations (UN) Expert Group provided evidences of the collaboration between FARDC and FDLR and demanded the country to stop.
The alarm was also raised by other blocs including the European Union to find a way for peace in eastern DRC.
During an interview with France 24 in September 2022, Felix Tshisekedi also said that FDLR that does not pose security threat.
He explained that it is comprised of members ‘with no political ambitions to overthrow Kigali’s leadership. In brief, what Rwanda says is a lie’.
Speaking to BBC recently, the Spokesperson of FDLR, Cure Ngoma refuted Tshisekedi’s utterance that the group is made up of thieves struggling for survival.
“We are existent. Those making the statements have their own reasons. We would not be participating in this conversation if we do not exist. Our soldiers are strong,” he said.
UN experts indicate that FARDC provided weapons to FDLR and allies with it on battlefield, a situation termed as the violation of international laws.
The Heads of State’s summit held in Luanda, Angola in November 2022 resolved that M23 should withdraw from occupied territories within 48 hours and ordered armed groups including FDLR-FOCA, RED Tabara and ADF among others to lay arms down and respect the process to bring them back to countries of origin.
DRC has done nothing to disarm them but continues to work with FDLR and advocate for it.
Rwanda and Portugal enjoy existing diplomatic relations dating back to 12th February 1976.
At the time, António Baptista Martins became the first Portuguese Ambassador in Rwanda with residence in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
He assumed the duties on 25th January 1997. Today, the country’s interests in Rwanda are overseen by Helena Malcata who presented credentials to President Paul Kagame on 22nd February 2019.
Amb. Nkurikiyimfura has been serving as Rwanda’s Ambassador to France since July 2022.
A Rwandan seeking to travel to Portugal is required to apply for Schengen visa. A round trip to the country with KLM aircraft costs US$825.
