Mozambican President Filip Nyusi on Friday evening toured Petite Barriere Border Post, one of the borders linking Rwanda to Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Head of State, who is in Rwanda on a three-day state visit, was accompanied to the tour by senior officials including Foreign Affairs Minister Louise Mushikiwabo and her Mozambican counterpart, Oldemiro Marques Júlio Baloi.

Also part of the tour was Vincent Munyeshyaka, the Minister for Trade and Industry.

President Nyusi toured different departments of the busy border crossing during which he was explained the different services offered to Rwandan and Congolese citizens who cross the facility to either side in their thousands every day.

The border is mainly used by informal traders from both countries.

Addressing the media after his tour, President Nyusi commended the traffic and "smartness” of the locals he met waiting for clearance as

they carried cargo back to Rwanda and others departing with cargo to DR Congo.

He stressed that it is paramount for Africans to open up borders in whatever they do to ensure sustainable development is attained.

"We’re discussing now about opening up to intra-Africa trade and this is good exercise to see happening,” he said.

He added that time is now for Africans to realise that no one benefits from closing borders or restricting movement of citizens across borders.

"This is the real, natural way of life for Africans. We need to all embrace it; to open borders, to open everything, in peace and help our citizens realise their potential,” he noted.

Petite Barriere is the busiest border in Rwanda and arguably in the region, where daily cross border movements are estimated at between 45,000 and 50,000 people according to figures from the Directorate General of Immigration and Emigration.

President Nyusi is today expected to meet business leaders as part of his visit while on his first day of the visit on Thursday, he visited the Special Economic Zone in Gasabo District.