The Commander of the French Africa Command, Major General Pascal Ianni, concluded a three-day official visit to Rwanda on Wednesday, holding high-level defence consultations with senior Rwandan military and civilian leadership amid growing strategic convergence between Kigali and Paris. According to the Rwanda Defence Force, Maj Gen Ianni met with Minister of Defence Juvenal Marizamunda and Chief of Defence Staff General MK Mubarakh on 18 May before proceeding to a working session at the Directorate General of International Military Cooperation. The discussions centred on strengthening bilater
The Commander of the French Africa Command, Major General Pascal Ianni, concluded a three-day official visit to Rwanda on Wednesday, holding high-level defence consultations with senior Rwandan military and civilian leadership amid growing strategic convergence between Kigali and Paris.
According to the Rwanda Defence Force, Maj Gen Ianni met with Minister of Defence Juvenal Marizamunda and Chief of Defence Staff General MK Mubarakh on 18 May before proceeding to a working session at the Directorate General of International Military Cooperation. The discussions centred on strengthening bilateral cooperation between the French Africa Command and the RDF.
Minister of Defence Juvenal Marizamunda and Chief of Defence Staff General MK Mubarakh (left side) meet with French Africa Command Commander Major General Pascal Ianni and his delegation (right side) during bilateral defence talks.
On 19 May, Maj Gen Ianni visited the RDF Combat Training Centre in Gabiro. On the final day of his visit, he delivered a lecture to students of the Senior Command and Staff Course in Musanze District, offering the French military's perspective on continental security dynamics.
French Africa Command Commander Major General Pascal Ianni reviews a guard of honour during his visit to the RDF Combat Training Centre in Gabiro on 19 May 2026.
The French Africa Command was established as a structure similar to the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM), with Maj Gen Ianni, a specialist in influence and information warfare, appointed to lead it.
His appointment reflects France's response to Russia's growing presence on the continent, as Paris seeks to recalibrate its military engagement following its military withdrawals from several West African nations in recent years.
The visit builds on a strengthening bilateral defence relationship. Rwanda and France previously agreed on a new defence cooperation roadmap to guide bilateral cooperation between the two nations, formalised during talks in Paris.
Since President Macron's 2021 visit to Kigali, during which he acknowledged France's responsibility during the 1994 genocide, relations between the two countries have entered a new era. Defence ties in particular have grown increasingly operational, with both nations cooperating in crisis contexts including Mozambique.
French President Emmanuel Macron (left) and Rwandan President Paul Kagame meet at the Village Urugwiro in Kigali on 27 May 2021, during Macron's landmark visit in which he acknowledged France's responsibility during the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi. | File Photo
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