Rwanda’s Foreign Minister Slams Belgium Over Suspension of Bilateral Cooperation » Capital News
NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 19— Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Olivier Nduhungirehe, has strongly criticized Belgium’s call for a “professional suspension” of bilateral cooperation, dismissing it as a “neocolonial narrative” and an act of “hypocrisy.”
His remarks come after Rwanda suspended its development cooperation with Belgium, accusing Brussels of leading efforts to block Kigali’s access to international development financing.
Nduhungirehe was responding to a statement by Belgium’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Maxime Prévot, who said Belgium had been reviewing the partnership due to Rwanda’s alleged violation of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) territorial integrity. Prévot insisted that Belgium’s move was meant to safeguard past development gains for the benefit of Rwandans.
But Nduhungirehe dismissed this, asserting that Rwanda is fully capable of managing its own development.
“First, it’s not the Kingdom of Belgium that takes care of the well-being of the Rwandan people, but the Government of Rwanda itself,” he said.
He accused Belgium of hypocrisy, alleging that while it claims to act in Rwanda’s best interests, it has simultaneously pressured Rwanda’s international partners to cut development aid.
“If Belgium was working for the ‘benefit of the Rwandan people,’ it would not be running around the world putting pressure on all our partners to end the development cooperation intended for that very ‘Rwandan people,’” he stated.
Nduhungirehe also accused Belgium of ignoring security threats against Rwanda, including what he described as President Félix Tshisekedi’s support for the FDLR, a rebel group linked to the 1994 Rwandan Genocide.
“When President Tshisekedi supported and armed the FDLR genocidal force, which he embedded in his own army, Belgium saw it but did nothing,” he claimed.
He further alleged that Belgium remained silent despite Tshisekedi’s military investments in attack drones and fighter jets, as well as the persecution of Congolese Tutsi communities in North Kivu, Banyamulenge in South Kivu, and Hema in Ituri.
“When the FARDC and its criminal militias persecute and kill, in broad daylight, the Congolese Tutsi in North Kivu, the Banyamulenge in South Kivu, and the Hema in Ituri, Belgium is informed to the fullest but chooses to look the other way,” he said.