Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Amb. Olivier Nduhungirehe met with Japan’s Foreign Minister IWAYA Takeshi on August 21 in Tokyo on the sidelines of the Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 9). At the start of the meeting, Minister IWAYA welcomed his Rwandan counterpart, noting Nduhungirehe’s personal ties to Japan, where he spent part of his childhood. He also praised the recent signing of a peace agreement between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. “It is important for all parties to fulfill the agreement,” IWA

Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Amb. Olivier Nduhungirehe met with Japan’s Foreign Minister IWAYA Takeshi on August 21 in Tokyo on the sidelines of the Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 9). At the start of the meeting, Minister IWAYA welcomed his Rwandan counterpart, noting Nduhungirehe’s personal ties to Japan, where he spent part of his childhood. He also praised the recent signing of a peace agreement between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. “It is important for all parties to fulfill the agreement,” IWAYA said, expressing Japan’s hope for Rwanda’s continued efforts toward stability. Minister Nduhungirehe, in turn, thanked Japan for its cooperation through the TICAD process and emphasized the need to build stronger partnerships between Africa and Japan. He stressed Rwanda’s commitment to peace and stability in the Great Lakes region. Japan’s foreign minister highlighted his country’s ongoing support for humanitarian efforts. “Japan has extended food assistance to refugees and host communities through the World Food Programme in response to the deteriorating situation in the Great Lakes region,” he said. Minister Nduhungirehe welcomed the support, saying Rwanda looks forward to deeper cooperation not only in humanitarian work but also in economic development. Rwanda and Japan share excellent and longstanding bilateral relations since 1962 when both countries established their diplomatic relations. Rwanda opened Embassy in Tokyo, Japan in May 1979 but was later forced to close it in September 2000 due to economic and financial restructuring undertaken in the framework of the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) program. The Embassy of Rwanda in Tokyo was re-opened in January 2005. Both countries enjoy an increasingly dynamic relationship supported by regular high-level contacts. The highlight in the bilateral relations in 2022 was the Japan-Rwanda Summit Meeting in Indonesia at the G20 Summit. There is an expanding bilateral cooperation in the areas of the economy, trade and investments, technical assistance, and capacity building. Rwanda and Japan have substantive cooperation across priority sectors of transportation, energy, water and sanitation, agriculture, and education. Other areas of cooperation are ICT, space, and geospatial technologies.

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