For more than 12 years, the Port of Mombasa has served the Rwandan market, positioning itself as the region’s most modern and efficient gateway for international trade.

To bring port services closer to Rwandan cargo owners and strengthen coordination along the Northern Corridor, the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) established a liaison office in Kigali in July 2013—a move welcomed by the Government of Rwanda.

As bilateral cooperation deepened, Kenya and Rwanda in 2024 agreed to formalise and operationalise the Kigali liaison office through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at enhancing service delivery, efficiency and regional trade integration.

That commitment was sealed on January 22, 2026, when the two countries signed the MoU on the establishment and operationalisation of the KPA Liaison Office in Kigali.

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The agreement was signed by Kenya’s Principal Secretary in the State Department of Transport, Mohamed Daghar, and Rwanda’s Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Infrastructure, Canoth Manishimwe in presence of Cpt. William K Ruto the Managing Director Kenya Ports Authority.

It reaffirms Kenya’s commitment to serving the Rwandan business community through the Port of Mombasa while strengthening trade facilitation along the Northern Corridor.

According to Manishimwe, the MoU formalises an arrangement that has existed for years and reflects the shared commitment by Rwanda and Kenya to strengthen trade ties and cooperation.

"The liaison office has been operating in Rwanda for years, but formalising it demonstrates the efforts both countries are making to strengthen trade relations and facilitate trade along the Northern Corridor so that traders no longer face persistent challenges,” he said.

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Manishimwe added that the agreement is intended to ease trade operations for cargo owners by addressing long-standing challenges, including high charges, non-tariff barriers and difficulties in tracking or accessing cargo.

Daghar said the MoU ensures that the KPA Liaison Office in Kigali operates in full compliance with Rwanda’s legal framework while strengthening Kenya’s logistical support to Rwandan importers through locally accessible port services.

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"The office has been in place since 2013 to ensure that Rwandan importers can access port-related services here in Kigali instead of travelling all the way to Mombasa. This agreement now formalises and strengthens that arrangement,” he said.

He highlighted Rwanda’s growing cargo volumes through the Port of Mombasa, noting a 22 per cent increase in throughput in 2025 to more than 800,000 metric tonnes, with projections to surpass one million metric tonnes in the near future.

"Rwanda is a key partner for us. Cargo throughput has grown significantly, and we are confident that volumes will soon cross the one-million-tonne mark,” Daghar said.

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He also pointed to broader cooperation in petroleum logistics and the development of inland container depot facilities in Naivasha, where Rwanda is advancing plans to establish its own facility to support efficient handling of transit cargo.

"Our cooperation extends beyond port services to petroleum logistics and inland container depots. Rwanda is moving to set up its own facility in Naivasha to ensure its transit cargo through Kenya is handled efficiently,” he added.

Daghar said the MoU, which took immediate effect, provides a framework for addressing operational bottlenecks and eliminating non-tariff barriers along the Northern Corridor to support smoother trade flows between the two countries.