Egyptian president arrives in Rwanda

11:45AM Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi arrived at Kigali International Airport Tuesday morning to start his two-day official visit to Rwanda. He is accompanied by a delegation of government officials. At hand to receive his at the airport was President Paul Kagame alongside senior government officials. Sisi arrived in Rwanda from Tanzania which was the first leg of his official visit to four Sub-Saharan Africa countries. After inspecting a guard of honour at the airport, Sisi’s first stop was the Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre where he laid a wreath in honour of the victims of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. The visiting head of state is scheduled to hold talks with President Paul Kagame later in the afternoon after which a statement of new areas of cooperation will be presented. Sisi will also be hosted to a state dinner later today. Sisi’s Visit to Rwanda is part of a four-African state tour which also includes Tanzania, Chad, and Gabon. According to Egyptian officials, the visit aims at strengthening ties between Egypt and Rwanda politically and economically. Among the aspects that will feature his delegation’s deliberations with their Rwandan counterparts include potential trade ties including formulating a free trade area. The visit will also see Egypt clarify the country’s position on various issues as well as consolidate political and economic relations, according to Egyptian officials. Ties between Rwanda and Egypt have strengthened in recent years with both countries running fully-fledged diplomatic missions in their two capitals. The two countries share ties across several sector including trade, healthcare, military training among others. Both Rwanda and Egypt belong to the Common Market and Southern Africa (COMESA) trade bloc. Prosecutor Generals of the two countries early this year signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen bilateral cooperation in combating crime. Rwanda and Egypt and both members of the Nile Basin Initiative which groups 10 countries.

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Egyptian president arrives in Rwanda