New Rwanda ambassador to Germany, Igor Cesar, on Friday presented his credentials to the President of the Federal Republic of Germany, Joachim Gauck in a ceremony held in the capital Berlin.

In a subsequent discussion with the envoy, the President said he was impressed by how Rwanda has been able to recover from a tragic past which, according to a statement, Gauck said intrigues him personally.

"President Gauck observed that Africa should have a stronger voice in international affairs,” reads part of the statement from the embassy in Berlin.

The two leaders also discussed Rwanda’s strategy to ensure sustainable growth as well as the situation concerning Burundian refugees currently in Rwanda.

Since violence broke out in Burundi in April, over 70,000 refugees have crossed into Rwanda while thousands of others went to neighbouring countries.

Rwanda and Germany established diplomatic relations in 1963.

Germany is one of the key development partners of Rwanda, and during bilateral negotiations concluded in Kigali on 13 November 2014, Rwanda and Germany agreed on a development cooperation programme for three years (2015-2017), with the latter pledging to contribute €69.5m for financial and technical cooperation in various sectors.