This afternoon at Urugwiro Village, President Kagame received Wang Xuekun, outgoing Ambassador of China to Rwanda, and Eduardo Filomeno Bárber Leiro Octávio, outgoing Ambassador of Angola to Rwanda, for farewell meetings as they conclude their tour of duty.
China and Rwanda established diplomatic relations on November 12, 1971, and the friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries have developed smoothly since then. President Xi Jinping paid a state visit to Rwanda in July 2018. President Paul Kagame attended the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in September 2024.
Rwanda and China have conducted extensive exchanges and cooperation in political, economic, cultural, people-to-people as well as international affairs. There are frequent exchanges and communications between the two countries’ ruling parties, the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF). Both Parties share a passion for the progress of their countries and the benefits for their peoples.
Bilateral relations between Rwanda and Angola have grown fast since Rwanda opened its Embassy in Luanda in 2015, which was followed by Angola opening its Embassy in Kigali in 2018. A permanent political dialogue is maintained through diplomatic representations in both Capitals; exchanges of high-level and technical visits as well as through business missions. Since 2016, several high-level visits have been undertaken.
Rwanda and Angola share a lot regarding their Liberation history and the struggle for justice and human rights, a common factor that brings the two countries together. While Rwanda’s history was marked by the divisions that led to the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi that claimed more than a million lives, Angola also experienced wars and rebellions that followed its independence.
After Angola’s war of independence from Portugal on November 11, 1975 through the Alvor Agreement, Angola later entered a period of civil war that lasted up until 2002. (End)