{"id":4104,"date":"2026-09-30T13:08:24","date_gmt":"2026-09-30T13:08:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/?p=4104"},"modified":"2026-09-30T13:08:24","modified_gmt":"2026-09-30T13:08:24","slug":"rwanda-belgium-reopen-diplomatic-channels-as-congo-tensions-remain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/30\/rwanda-belgium-reopen-diplomatic-channels-as-congo-tensions-remain\/politics\/","title":{"rendered":"Rwanda, Belgium reopen diplomatic channels as Congo tensions remain"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Rwanda and Belgium have restored diplomatic relations and agreed to reopen their embassies, but disagreements over the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo remain a central issue between the two countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The decision, announced on September 22 after months of talks between the two foreign ministers, ended an 18-month diplomatic rupture that began in March 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The two countries will initially reopen their embassies with small teams led by charg\u00e9s d\u2019affaires ad interim, supported by a diplomat or consular officer. Ambassadors will be appointed later through the accreditation process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rwanda’s Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe said the restored diplomatic channels would allow the two sides to continue discussing regional security, including the role of the FDLR in the conflict in eastern Congo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nduhungirehe accused the Congolese government of failing to fulfil commitments to neutralise and disarm the FDLR under the Washington agreements. He alleged that Kinshasa had instead continued to support the group with weapons and other assistance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those allegations are part of Rwanda’s longstanding security position regarding the FDLR. Rwanda says the group, which has roots among perpetrators of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, remains a threat to its security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The minister dismissed statements from officials in the DRC and Burundi who have argued that the FDLR lacks the military capacity to pose a significant threat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said the group’s locations in eastern Congo are known and accused it of continuing to work with Congolese authorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The issue remains part of the wider Washington peace process. At a meeting in Geneva in July, Rwanda and the DRC reaffirmed commitments to accelerate the neutralisation of the FDLR and other measures under the agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Belgium has also maintained that restoring relations with Rwanda does not mean abandoning its position on the Congo conflict. Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Pr\u00e9vot said the two countries had agreed to maintain systematic dialogue, including on their remaining disagreements over eastern DRC. Belgium said it would continue to support the DRC’s territorial integrity and call on parties to honour commitments under the Doha and Washington processes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The diplomatic rupture began on March 17, 2025, when Rwanda cut ties with Belgium and ordered Belgian diplomats to leave within 48 hours. Belgium’s embassy in Kigali subsequently closed, with consular services transferred to its mission in Nairobi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The restoration of relations followed several months of direct and informal contacts between Nduhungirehe and Pr\u00e9vot. Both governments have credited Qatar with facilitating their first meeting in Doha in June 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reopening of the embassies restores formal diplomatic channels between Kigali and Brussels, while leaving the two governments to continue addressing their differences over the conflict in eastern Congo through dialogue.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rwanda and Belgium have restored diplomatic relations and agreed to reopen their embassies, but disagreements over the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo remain […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4105,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43,53,41,36,5,40],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4104","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-current_affairs","category-featured-stories","category-hot_topics","category-international","category-politics","category-top_stories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4104","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4104"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4104\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4106,"href":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4104\/revisions\/4106"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4105"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4104"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4104"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedawnrwanda.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4104"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}