Rwanda has just signed some financial agreements with France, reflecting a thaw of tensions between the two nations. The African country will receive $56 million from the French Development Agency to deal with the challenges in this difficult global context.

The first agreement, consisting of a $45 million loan, will be used to combat the coronavirus pandemic and its impacts on the economy. A grant of $2.2 million will support vulnerable families and the action of the Rwandan Red Cross.

Another agreement worth $6.5 million will subsidize the development of the country's vocational training system to promote youth employment through the Integrated Polytechnic Regional Centers (IPRCs). Finally, nearly $2 million will be used to provide technical assistance to Rwanda's Polytechnic School.

According to Rémy Rioux, MD of AFD, these agreements “are part of a dynamic to revive the partnership” between Rwanda and France. Relations between the two countries have been tumultuous, to say the least, in recent years due to Paris' supposed role in the Rwandan genocide in 1994. In 2006, following an arrest warrant issued by Judge Jean-Louis Bruguière against relatives of President Paul Kagame, Kigali broke off relations with France. Although efforts to bring the two countries together have been made since then, it should be noted that France has not had official diplomatic representation in the East African country since 2015.

According to Uzziel Ndagijimana, Rwandan Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, the signing of these agreements marks the “beginning of a much stronger collaboration between the two countries,” adding that other collaborative projects in the sectors of energy, education and digital technologies are planned.

As a reminder, it was only in June 2020 during a visit by Rémy Rioux to Kigali that AFD resumed its collaboration with Rwanda; collaborations that had been suspended since 1992.

Moutiou Adjibi Nourou