Russia and Rwanda established diplomatic relations in 1963, shortly after Rwanda’s independence.
Today, the two countries enjoy strong ties through their embassies, with cooperation focused on areas such as politics, military affairs, education, human resource development, and cultural exchange.
Moscow and Kigali are in the process of forming an intergovernmental commission to enhance trade, economic, scientific, and technical collaboration.
According to the new Russian Ambassador to Kigali, Alexander Polyakov, the draft agreement for this initiative is currently under review by Rwandan authorities.
“The establishment of an Intergovernmental Russian-Rwandan Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation is on our agenda. The draft agreement was submitted this summer for our partners’ consideration,” Polyakov stated.
The ambassador highlighted the potential for collaboration in IT and cybersecurity, noting Rwanda’s leadership in digitalization across Africa and Russia’s expertise in electronic services and cybersecurity, which could lead to a mutually beneficial partnership.
He also mentioned that Kaspersky Lab, a Russian multinational cybersecurity and antivirus provider, chose Rwanda for its second office in sub-Saharan Africa, following South Africa, and opened its first Transparency Center on the continent there last year.
