Rwanda’s foreign affairs minister Olivier Nduhungirehe held a phone conversation with Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Bogdanov Mikhail Leonidovich who is responsible for relations with the Middle East and Africa, over strengthening bilateral ties and the situation in DR Congo. “Their discussion focused on strengthening Rwanda-Russia cooperation and exchanging views on the situation in the Eastern DRC,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation on Wednesday, February 5, posted on X. Minister @onduhungirehe held a productive phone conversation with Hon. Bogdanov Mikhail Leonidovich, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, responsible for relations with the Middle East and Africa. Their discussion focused on strengthening Rwanda -... pic.twitter.com/HzlmxaTnB9 — Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Int'l Cooperation (@RwandaMFA) February 5, 2025 This engagement comes amid heightened regional tensions following the M23 rebels’ capture of Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, on January 27. On Monday, February 3, rebel spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka said they declared a ceasefire for humanitarian reasons, effective February 4. ALSO READ: Timeline of events before and after M23 entered Goma Kanyuka said the move was in response to the humanitarian crisis caused by the Kinshasa regime. A joint EAC-SADC summit on the eastern DRC crisis is scheduled for Saturday, February 8, in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Rwanda-Russia relations Diplomatic relations between Rwanda and Russia were established on October 17, 1963. The two countries maintain strong ties, facilitated through resident diplomatic missions at an ambassadorial level. Bilateral cooperation spans political, military, educational, human resource development, and cultural sectors. Russia offers scholarships to Rwandan students, and some police officers receive training there. Over the past 50 years, around 800 Rwandan students have graduated from Russian universities in fields such as law, medicine, and political science. Last August, Russia’s new ambassador to Rwanda, Alexander Polyakov, said he was instructed to do his best in the pursuit of deepening the historically, warm and friendly Russia-Rwanda relations “for the mutual benefit of our two peoples.” Amb Polyakov maintained that Russia respects Rwanda’s “proactive and creative” approach to the issues of African integration and its outstanding contribution to international peacekeeping. “We completely understand the motive behind the strong stand of the Rwandan leadership on the multifaceted crisis in the Eastern DR Congo and we strongly support the idea of putting an end to it in a peaceful means of dialogue based on reasonable comprise.” ALSO READ: Inside Rwanda, Russia nuclear deal Polyakov also stressed that Russia and Rwanda share cordial relations in different areas of cooperation, including in nuclear energy, military cooperation, trade and investment, among others. “We are very confident in our military cooperation, and Russia continues to provide state-funded scholarships for Rwandan students. We are ready to accept more students in our country.”
