Rwanda has enacted 43 defense cooperation agreements, nearly half of them in the past three years.

Nine of them were signed in 2025 alone, with negotiations underway on 21 additional agreements, according to the Ministry of Defense.

The growth tracks closely with the establishment of the Directorate General of International Military Cooperation (IMC) three years ago.

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Created to centralise and professionalise Rwanda&039;s external defence engagements, the IMC has since become one of the most active units within the Ministry of Defence, reflecting the rising demand for Rwanda's military expertise across Africa and beyond.

"These MoUs (cooperation agreements) provide the legal and regulatory framework that allows us to engage bilaterally," said Brig Gen Patrick Karuretwa, Director General of IMC. "But they are only the foundation. The real cooperation goes much further."

Speaking to The New Times in an exclusive interview, Gen Karuretwa said the memoranda of understanding cover a wide spectrum of defence activity, including joint training, professional military education, intelligence, and information sharing.

Other aspects in a typical agreement include counter-terrorism, cyber security, logistics, defence acquisition, peace support operations, and defence industry cooperation.

Once signed, each agreement is operationalised through joint committees that define priorities, activities, and implementation timelines.

"This year alone, we signed nine MOUs across Africa, Europe, and Asia," Karuretwa pointed out, "We also have 21 more in the pipeline."

How it works

While the agreements provide structure, Karuretwa stressed that they do not capture the full scope of Rwanda&039;s military engagement, citing that much of the cooperation unfolds through continuous training exchanges, advisory missions, and operational coordination that do not always attract public attention.

As it stands, Africa accounts for the largest share of Rwanda's defence partnerships, a pattern Karuretwa described as intentional rather than incidental. "Rwanda has established itself as a security provider on the continent. That shapes where we focus."

This positioning has been reinforced by Rwanda's growing operational footprint.

Beyond long-standing participation in United Nations (UN) peacekeeping missions, Rwanda has engaged directly in bilateral military operations in support of African governments facing acute security threats.

The deployments to Mozambique and the Central African Republic (CAR) stand out for their scale, speed, and visibility.

In Mozambique, Rwandan forces were deployed in July 2021 following a formal request from Maputo. The mandate was cut out for the latter: combat and defeat terrorist groups in Cabo Delgado, stabilise affected areas, and facilitate security sector reform.

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According to the RDF, insurgent forces have since been degraded and pushed out of major population centres, with the remaining elements confined to remote forested areas.

Government authority has been restored across Mocímboa da Praia and other key districts. Displaced civilians have returned to their villages, schools have reopened, and major transport routes linking the region to national corridors are operational again.

State services have resumed, and economic activity is gradually recovering, according to RDF’s operations directorate.

Rwandan forces have also supported confidence-building measures and security sector reform, including outreach activities, medical assistance in remote areas, and facilitation of basic infrastructure such as schools and markets.

The emphasis, Karuretwa said, has been on enabling host nations to sustain security gains.

In the Central African Republic, Rwanda maintains infantry battalions, a battle group, a level-two hospital and staff officers, operating under both bilateral arrangements and UN mandates. The focus has been on civilian protection, stabilisation, and support to national forces.

"These were situations where almost all other approaches had failed," Karuretwa said. "Rwanda projected its forces thousands of kilometres away and achieved decisive impact within months."

Beyond these high-profile deployments, Rwanda remains a major contributor to UN peacekeeping operations.

It fields more than 2,000 personnel with the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), aviation units, military observers in Abyei, and additional contingents in CAR. This remains the backbone of Rwanda's international military engagement, even as UN missions face funding pressures and downsizing.

Kin to Rwanda’s history

Karuretwa traced Rwanda's posture to its own history, "A lot of what we do in defence cooperation is motivated by what happened here in 1994," he asserted. "Rwanda was the recipient of the worst possible failure of international intervention."

That experience, he said, shaped Rwanda's decision to enter peacekeeping not as a beneficiary but as a provider.

"We reject indifference, ten years after the genocide, Rwanda joined peacekeeping to make sure we are never passive in the face of mass violence again."

The strategic logic has evolved alongside changing threat patterns. Armed groups, terrorist networks, and transnational criminal organisations increasingly operate across borders, making national responses insufficient.

"Many threats start local, become national, then regional. That reality demands cooperation and early engagement."

This context helps explain the steady rise in requests for Rwanda's involvement.

In Mozambique, Karuretwa noted, Rwanda had no prior defence cooperation agreement before its deployment. He pointed out that an MOU was negotiated specifically to create the legal framework for intervention. "It was targeted and urgent," he said.

Requests are not limited to direct combat support. Many partnerships focus on advisory roles, training, intelligence cooperation, and capability development. "Certain countries have more to offer than others," Karuretwa said. "Trust and alignment of interests matter."

That trust, he argued, has translated into diplomatic capital.

Last month, Rwanda hosted the annual Land Forces Commanders Symposium in Kigali, drawing around 30 countries from Africa, the Middle East, and Europe. The turnout was unusually broad for a country of Rwanda&039;s size.

"We see that as a measure of confidence in Rwanda as a respected and reliable partner," Karuretwa said.

Welcome criticism

Increased military support has also brought scrutiny. Rwanda's security engagements have attracted both praise and criticism, particularly as they expand beyond traditional peacekeeping roles.

"When you engage at this level, attention follows," Karuretwa said. "Some of it is positive. Some of it is not."

He maintained that Rwanda's approach was deliberate and consultative. Before deploying to Mozambique and the CAR, Rwanda engaged neighbouring states and regional organisations to explain its objectives and secure non-objection.

The aim, he said, was to minimise misinterpretation and political friction.

Karuretwa framed Rwanda's growing influence through the lens of "smart power," combining military capability with diplomatic leverage. "Through operations, training, joint exercises, and sharing experience, we increase our reach and influence," he said. "That benefits us."

Reacting to the agreements in the pipeline, Karuretwa said future agreements are likely to become more targeted, addressing specific capability gaps and emerging threats while remaining aligned with Rwanda's broader interests.

"The more we engage, the more sophisticated we become at making these partnerships work. IMC was created only three years ago, but today it is one of the busiest departments because so many countries want to work with us."