KIGALI – Rwanda has suspended its five-year bilateral cooperation agreement with Belgium, accusing the European nation of taking sides in the ongoing conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and using development aid as a political tool.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!The Rwandan Foreign Ministry announced the decision on Tuesday after Belgium publicly accused Kigali of backing M23 rebels, who have recently captured key cities in North and South Kivu provinces. The renewed clashes have led to thousands of deaths, including children, according to UN reports.
“Belgium has led an aggressive campaign, together with DRC, aiming to sabotage Rwanda’s access to development finance, including in multilateral institutions,” the ministry stated. “These efforts demonstrate that there is no longer a sound basis for development cooperation with Belgium. Accordingly, Rwanda is suspending the remainder of the 2024-2029 bilateral aid program.”
The Belgian government had pledged €95 million ($99 million) in development assistance under the agreement, according to its embassy in Kigali.
The ongoing conflict in the DRC has long strained relations between Kinshasa and Kigali, with the Congolese government accusing Rwanda of supporting M23 rebels to exploit the mineral-rich region. A UN expert report last year also claimed that around 4,000 Rwandan troops were fighting alongside the rebels. Kigali has repeatedly denied the allegations no but continues to face international pressure, including from Belgium and the United States.
Rwanda denounced Belgium’s position, calling it “unwarranted external interference” that undermines ongoing African-led peace efforts, including a recent regional summit in Tanzania.
“Rwanda will not be bullied or blackmailed into compromising national security,” the ministry stated, adding that its primary goal is to maintain a secure border and put an end to violent ethnic extremism in the region.
In response, Belgian Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Prevot revealed that Brussels was already reconsidering its entire bilateral cooperation with Rwanda due to its alleged “violation of the territorial integrity” of the DRC.
“This would have led to measures relating to our cooperation that Rwanda is now anticipating,” Prevot said in a post on X.
The diplomatic fallout follows previous tensions between Rwanda and the U.S., with Washington accusing Kigali of supporting M23 fighters. Last year, the Biden administration called for Rwanda to withdraw its defense forces and missile systems from eastern DRC, a move Kigali condemned as a distortion of reality.
As regional leaders push for a ceasefire and diplomatic resolution, the rift between Rwanda and Belgium underscores the broader geopolitical stakes in the escalating crisis.
