Last week was quite eventful, at least for those interested in Rwanda’s foreign relations, and regional security and stability. For one, President Paul Kagame’s private visit to Uganda – his first trip there in a little over four years – was seen as a major step toward cementing renewed ties between the two sisterly countries. In Uganda, President Kagame held bilateral talks with his host, President Yoweri Museveni, and attended the 48th birthday bash of Museveni’s son and Commander Land Forces Lt Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba. The occasion served to reset the relations between the two countries, with Museveni later praising the friendship between Muhoozi and Kagame. Gen Muhoozi has been at the heart of fresh efforts to mend ties between Rwanda and Uganda, which has seen him visit Rwanda twice this year for talks with President Kagame over bilateral relations. Further afield, French President Emmanuel Macron secured a second term in office, once again beating Marine Le Pen in Sunday’s run-off. Macron, under whose administration France has sought to confront its negative role in Rwanda’s tragic history, particularly the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, and moved to re-establish relations with Kigali, picked up more than 58 per cent of votes cast. Welcoming the outcome of the poll, Kagame praised the French leader for his “visionary leadership that seeks to unite and not divide.” Le Pen, his far-right challenger, has previously criticised Macron for seeking a fresh beginning with Rwanda and for supporting Rwanda’s former foreign minister Louise Mushikiwabo’s 2018 bid for the position of the secretary-general of International Organization of La Francophonie (IOF). Therefore, it goes without saying that Macron’s re-election is good for ongoing efforts to build stronger ties between Kigali and Paris, and, more broadly, for the La Francophonie community. Last week also saw DR Congo, Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda join hands in a bid to find a lasting solution to the issue of insecurity in eastern DR Congo. The Heads of State Conclave, held in Nairobi, saw the adoption of a number of resolutions, including asking all Congolese armed groups to talk peace with Kinshasa or face military action from the region, and for all foreign armed groups to lay down arms and return to their countries of origin. While this is not necessarily new as far as the region’s efforts to neutralise irregular armed groups in the Congo are concerned, the latest initiative will benefit from the fact that DR Congo is now a member of the East African Community (EAC). We hope that these resolutions will be followed by concrete action. Addressing security challenges in eastern DR Congo will go a long way toward easing intermittent tensions in the region, thereby paving the way for genuine integration and sustainable peace and stability in the wider EAC and Great Lakes region.
