President Evariste Ndayishimiye of Burundi on Thursday, March 17, received Cardinal Antoine Kambanda of Rwanda, in the Burundian capital, Gitega. The development announced by Ntare Rushatsi House, Burundi’s State House, comes just two days after President Ndayishimiye also received a high-level Rwandan delegation led by Minister of Defence Maj Gen Albert Murasira, who delivered a message from President Paul Kagame. Kambanda, who is the first Rwandan to be named cardinal, is the Archbishop of the Diocese of Kigali. According to a tweet by Burundian State House, Cardinal Kambanda is visiting Burundi as part of a meeting of senior Catholic Church clerics from both countries. However, the latest development is seen as yet another good sign as the two neighbouring countries continue to work towards the restoration good bilateral ties. Last September, Rwanda’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Dr Vincent Biruta, met with his Burundian counterpart, Amb Albert Shingiro, on the sidelines of the 76th United Nations General Assembly in New York, where they “exchanged on matters of bilateral relations between our two countries, and the road to normalization.” Relations between Rwanda and Burundi have been frosty for the better part of the last six years but both sides recently moved to improve ties with a series of high-level bilateral meetings between political as well as military and security officials. In July, Prime Minister Edouard Ngirente led a Rwandan delegation to Burundi for the country’s 59th Independence Day celebrations. While in Bujumbura, at the time, Ngirente reiterated Rwanda’s commitment to restore ties with Burundi. Heads of military intelligence from both sides held talks on cross-border security cooperation. As part of continued effort to help improve relations, Rwanda handed over to Burundi 19 combatants earlier arrested after crossing into Rwanda.
