Ruto starts two-day visit to Rwanda on President Kagame’s invitation

Kenyan President William Ruto (left) after he arrived in Kigali on April 4, 2023 on the invitation of Rwanda's President Paul Kagame (right) to begin a two-day tour. PHOTO | PCS

By AGGREY MUTAMBO

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Kenyan President William Ruto has arrived in Kigali on Tuesday afternoon to begin a

two-day tour — on the invitation of President Paul Kagame — his first in Rwanda since he came to power last year in September.

According to a statement from State House in Nairobi, the agenda of the trip is to deliberate on areas of “mutual interest and cooperation” including the integration projects on the Northern Corridor, the main supply line for imports out of the region to Rwanda, through Kenya. Trade expansion within the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTA) education, food security, innovation and ICT and health are the other issues on the agenda.

The two countries, as well as Uganda, had once fronted the Coalition of the Willing, pushing ahead with projects such as a common visa for tourists visiting the three, one-stop-border posts and planned expansion of the Northern Corridor. Some of the projects, like the planned railway, were, however, paused or diverted as the relations between Uganda and Rwanda, in particular, soured at some point before recovering.

Regional peace

Beyond integration projects, however, Rwanda and Kenya will be meeting to discuss regional peace and security, with the immediate, common problem being the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

The dispatch didn’t mention it, but the conflict affects both countries in some way. The ongoing violence has seen Kinshasa accuse Rwanda of fuelling the M23 rebellion, something Kigali rejects, but also accuses Kinshasa of fomenting the FDLR movement seen in Rwanda as an enemy to its stability.

Kenya, a troop contributor to the East African Community Regional Force (EACRF), has also hosted dialogue sessions for warring factions in the DRC. But it could ultimately depend on improved relations between Rwanda and DR Congo to pacify the region.

Ruto has so far visited, or met, with leaders from Uganda, DR Congo, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Burundi, in keeping with what he calls pursuit of good neighbourliness.