President Paul Kagame has received President Faustin-Archange Touadéra of the Central African Republic who arrived Kigali Thursday on a four-day State visit.
Both Heads of state are expected to hold a closed-door meeting after which President Touadéra is expected to tour various institutions in Rwanda, including the Campaign Against Genocide Museum, and the recently inaugurated million-dollar model village in Musanze district built for 144 families with a school and a health centre.
They will later hold bilateral talks with accompanying officials from the Central African Republic and Rwanda. After which President Touadéra will tour several conservation and ecotourism destinations before departing for Bangui on August 8.
In October 2019, President Kagame received an honorary award “Grand Croix de la Reconnaissance” during his intra-country presidential visit to Bangui. Both countries inked consensual agreements in terms of mining, oil, defence, investment promotion and a bilateral investment treaty.
Kagame promised Rwanda’s sustained support to CAR as it strives to recover from years of political turmoil.
President Touadéra’s visit follows the recent deployment of 700 troops to secure the main supply route connecting the capital Bangui to the border with Cameroon. He was sworn in for his second five-year term in March 2021.
With over 3,000 troops deployed in different parts of the central African country since 2014, Rwanda is the third largest peacekeeping contributor in CAR.
Rwandan soldiers have since 2016 provided protection for President Faustin-Archange Touadéra and other top government functionaries in CAR.
Rwanda maintains two Infantry Battalions, a Mechanized Battle Group and a Level II Hospital in support of peacekeeping operations in CAR. Rwanda had earlier sent 1,267 troops to CAR serving under the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Central African Republic (Minusca).