Rwandan Minister Pledges Deeper Ties with Ethiopia

Addis Ababa, July 31, 2026 (ENA) — Pledging to further deepen cooperation between Ethiopia and Rwanda, Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe noted that the countries enjoy tremendous relations at both bilateral and multilateral levels.

In an exclusive interview with ENA, the Rwanda Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Minister said Rwanda and Ethiopia should, however, expand exports and imports.

He also revealed that the countries are working together in health, pointing to 130 Rwandan students pursuing PhD and master’s programs in health institutions in Ethiopia.

Besides, Nduhungirehe stated that Rwandan Defence Force personnel and members of the World International Police have been in Ethiopia for training.

Moreoever, Ethiopia and Rwanda are long-standing pan-Africanist states that have been working to foster unity and economic integration of Africa.

According to him, such Ethiopia and Rwanda engagement can encourage broader African unity and economic integration.

On issues of ongoing efforts to reform the African Union’s institutional and financial systems, the Minister pointed out that stronger leadership of African countries like Ethiopia is crucial to help ensure that more projects are financed from within Africa.

He elaborated that Africa’s resources, including a young population, arable land, and natural wealth, should be leveraged to make the continent the richest.

Nduhungirehe noted that the challenge is partly one of mindset and financing.

Regionally, the Minister emphasized on the need to boost intra-African trade, saying many African countries still face barriers that make trade within the continent more difficult than trade with other regions.

Rwanda was one of the early joining countries in signing the African Continental Free Trade Area.

Furthermore, he emphasized that climate change affects the whole continent and that South-South knowledge exchange, including sharing Ethiopia’s climate mitigation experiences with other countries, could support development while protecting the environment.  

In this regard, the Minister said the two nations will continue to exchange best practices through bilateral engagement and within African Union platforms.