President Paul Kagame met Tuesday with former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo for talks focused on regional security, peace efforts in eastern Congo, and broader development issues across Africa, officials said.
The meeting took place at Village Urugwiro, the presidential office in Kigali, and comes amid ongoing diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Obasanjo was appointed earlier this year by the East African Community and the Southern African Development Community as a mediator in the crisis.
“The two leaders exchanged views on pathways to peace and development,” Kagame’s office said in a statement posted on X, formerly Twitter.
Talks between the Congolese government and the M23/AFC coalition, aimed at ending a three-year conflict, are currently underway in Doha, Qatar.
Obasanjo, who served as Nigeria’s president from 1999 to 2007, has played a leading role in African diplomacy. In 2021, the African Union Commission appointed him as a special envoy for peace and security across the continent.
Rwanda and Nigeria maintain strong diplomatic and economic ties, with cooperation in areas such as technology, education, and security. The two countries signed a bilateral agreement in 2022 to promote collaboration in information and communications technology. Nigerian businesses are also active in Rwanda’s energy and tech sectors.
