International Relations Fact Sheet
Security
- Rwanda plays an active role in supporting peace-keeping operations worldwide, particularly in Africa. The UN described Rwanda as a “giant of peacekeeping“.
- In the UN’s rankings of peacekeeping contributions by country, Rwanda sits in 2nd place behind Bangladesh, with 6,383 troops.
- Rwandan peacekeepers are actively involved in the ongoing situation in the Central African Republic (CAR). Their intervention has been praised by Faustin-Archange Touadera, the CAR’s current president.
Diplomacy
- The United States established diplomatic relations with Rwanda in 1962, following its independence from a Belgian-administered trusteeship. U.S. imports from Rwanda include coffee and other agricultural products, tantalum and tungsten ores, basketwork, handbags, and apparel.
- Israel opened its first embassy in Rwanda in 2019.
- Rwanda severed diplomatic relations with France in 2006. Ties were restored in 2009.
Pan-Africanism
- Rwanda has been a part of the African Union since its launch in 2002.
- Rwanda is also one of 19 members of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) that offers preferential terms of trade for its members.
- Rwanda joined the East African Community (EAC) in 2007.
- It is also a member of Economic Community of the Great Lakes and the Economic Community of Central African States.
- Rwanda has also been heavily involved in the formation of The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The free-trade area is the largest in the world in terms of the number of participating countries, since the formation of the World Trade Organization.
Asylum Support
- Rwanda also hosts a number of refugees from neighbouring countries as well as from active conflict situations around the world.
- Rwanda has received over 300 refugees and asylum seekers from Libya. A UNHCR spokesperson described this as a ‘vital lifeline’ for previously trapped refugees.
- In 2018, Rwanda hosted over 140,000 refugees – mostly from Congo and Burundi.