Rwanda in talks with Italy to take in migrants trying to reach EU

"We are still in discussions," Rwandan government spokesperson Yolande Makolo told on radio station Royal FM on Thursday, stressing that no deal had yet been reached.

She said one idea being considered was the expansion of an emergency programme to host migrants evacuated from Libya in a transit centre in the south of Rwanda.

Developed with the African Union and the UN refugee agency in 2019, the programme sees asylum seekers provided with medical care and other support while their case is processed, before either returning to their home countries or resettling elsewhere. 

The announcement came two days after Italy called on the EU to set up "return hubs" in countries outside the bloc to host foreign nationals who arrive in its territory without authorisation.

Rome presented the proposal at an emergency meeting of EU interior ministers on Tuesday, called after tens of thousands of people crossed into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta from Morocco in a bid to reach Europe.  

Ceuta migrants caught between humanitarian disaster and diplomatic row

Precedents

The Italian government already operates migrant detention centres in Albania, which house people applying for asylum in Italy while their claims are processed or after they have been rejected.

The centres it is proposing in other third countries would be financed by the EU and run jointly with other members of the bloc.

Other African countries are also being considered to host the facilities, including Uganda and Ghana.

Rwanda has already concluded international migration agreements, notably a deal to take in asylum seekers transferred from the United Kingdom. Signed in 2022, the scheme stalled under prolonged opposition and was eventually abandoned when the UK changed governments in 2024. 

Earlier this year, Kigali took the UK to court seeking the payment of millions of pounds it said it was still owed from the deal. International arbitrators in The Hague subsequently rejected the claim.

In August 2025, Rwanda signed a deal with the United States to temporarily host up to 250 people deported from the US. It is understood that the arrangement included a grant paid by Washington.