Denmark has officially opened its embassy in Kigali, marking a new phase in expanding diplomatic and development ties with Rwanda.
The inauguration ceremony was held Monday evening and attended by Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Olivier Nduhungirehe, and Denmark’s Foreign Minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen.
Rwandan officials welcomed the move, describing it as a sign of deepening bilateral cooperation. Nduhungirehe praised the growing diplomatic relationship and reaffirmed Rwanda’s commitment to strengthening mutually beneficial partnerships with Denmark.
Denmark formally established its embassy in Rwanda in August 2025 and appointed Casper Stenger Jensen as its first resident ambassador. He is Denmark’s first envoy based in Kigali and has said Copenhagen aims to broaden cooperation with Rwanda and the wider region.
The two countries have built cooperation in areas including development, climate action, governance, migration and refugee support.
In April 2021, Denmark’s then-Minister for Development Cooperation, Flemming Møller Mortensen, and Minister for Immigration and Integration, Mattias Tesfaye, visited Rwanda, where agreements were signed on political cooperation and collaboration related to asylum seekers and migrants.
Both governments pledged to strengthen partnerships supporting Rwanda’s economic and social development, including initiatives addressing climate change and good governance.
Denmark is among the countries supporting the Gashora Emergency Transit Mechanism center in eastern Rwanda, which temporarily hosts migrants and asylum seekers evacuated from Libya while they await resettlement in third countries outside Africa.
Judicial cooperation has also featured in bilateral relations. Denmark extradited two men to Rwanda in connection with the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi: Emmanuel Mbarushimana in 2014 and Wenceslas Twagirayezu in 2018.
Officials from both sides said the new embassy will further institutionalize cooperation and enhance diplomatic engagement between the two nations.
