President Paul Kagame and his Burundian counterpart Evariste Ndayishimiye held a tete-a-tete on Saturday, February 4, in Bujumbura.

Their meeting followed the Extra-Ordinary Summit of the East African Community Heads of State that took place in the Burundian city.

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In 2020, the neighbouring countries began to normalise relations, with exchanges of high-level visits.

In July 2021, Rwanda’s Prime Minister, Edouard Ngirente, attended Independence Day celebrations in Burundi.

ALSO READ: Burundi Minister: Very good progress made in reviving relations with Rwanda

In January 2022, President Ndayishimiye sent a message to President Kagame through the Burundian Minister in charge of East African Community Affairs, Ezechiel Nibigira.

ALSO READ: Burundian leaders meeting refugees ‘step in the right direction’

In December 2022, a Burundian delegation led by Lt Gen Andre Ndayambaje, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Interior, came to Rwanda on a three-day campaign to encourage over 50,000 refugees who fled to Rwanda in 2015 to return home.

Earlier, in September, Rwanda&039;s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr Vincent Biruta, met with his Burundian counterpart, Amb. Albert Shingiro, on the side-lines of the 76th United Nations General Assembly in New York, United States. They exchanged on matters of bilateral ties and the normalisation of the two countries’ relations.