President Paul Kagame has congratulated Guinea’s President Mamadi Doumbouya on his election victory, pledging continued cooperation to strengthen bilateral relations and promote shared development and economic growth.
Kagame delivered the message in a statement posted on social media on Monday, Jan. 5, 2026, following the announcement of Doumbouya’s victory in Guinea’s presidential election.
“I congratulate you, my brother President Mamadi Doumbouya, on your victory as President of the Republic of Guinea,” Kagame said. “We reaffirm our commitment to work together to strengthen and preserve our strong relationship and to deepen cooperation for shared development and economic opportunities.”
Doumbouya won the Jan. 4 election with 86.72% of the vote, securing a seven-year term, according to Guinea’s electoral authorities. The vote followed presidential elections held on Dec. 28, 2025, under a new Constitution that removed provisions barring military leaders from running for office and extended the presidential term from five to seven years.
In a televised address broadcast on national radio and television on Sunday night, Doumbouya called for unity and national reconciliation.
“Today, there are no winners or losers. There is only one Guinea — united and indivisible,” he said. “I call on all citizens to build a new Guinea founded on peace, justice, shared development and full political and economic sovereignty.”
Rwanda and Guinea have strengthened diplomatic ties in recent years through high-level exchanges and growing economic cooperation.
Doumbouya and his wife, Lauriane Doumbouya, paid a three-day working visit to Rwanda in January 2024. They were received with state honors by Kagame at Kigali International Airport, before being hosted by the Rwandan leader and First Lady Jeannette Kagame at their residence in Bugesera District.
In November 2025, Kagame visited Guinea, where he joined Doumbouya to launch the Simandou Iron Ore project, regarded as the world’s largest iron ore mining development currently underway. The Simandou deposits, located in southeastern Guinea, are believed to hold between 3 billion and 4 billion tons of iron ore, making them among the largest reserves globally.
Bilateral relations were further bolstered in October 2023 when Guinea opened its embassy in Rwanda. The move followed Kagame’s official visit to Guinea in April 2023, during which the two countries signed cooperation agreements in technology and other sectors aimed at deepening collaboration.
During that visit, Kagame attended the inauguration of the Kagbélen Bridge in the city of Dubréka. The bridge, named the Paul Kagame Bridge, connects the Kagbélen area to the capital, Conakry, and was built under infrastructure agreements signed between Guinea and China in 2017.
