Mutual benefit as Belgium and Rwanda bury the hatchet

Belgium and Rwanda restored diplomatic relations this week, ending an 18-month rift that weakened Brussels' diplomatic influence in Africa and caused troubles for Rwandans at home and in Europe, analysts said.

The relationship frayed after Belgium criticised Rwanda for supporting the M23 armed group in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) during a lightning offensive last year.

Kigali blamed Belgium for the European Union imposing sanctions on Rwandan military leaders and cut ties with it in March 2025, expelling Belgian diplomats.

Over a year later "there was clearly a mutual interest" in resuming dialogue, Bram Verelst, a researcher at the Institute for Security Studies (ISS), told AFP.

Belgium was wary the spat would see it sidelined in international talks to resolve the DRC conflict -- a significant loss of clout for the region's former colonial power, added Bob Kabamba, an expert in Africa's Great Lakes region at the University of Liege.

"Since the Congo issue is set to return to the agenda at several conferences, it was imperative for Belgium to mend fences with Kigali in order to be present," he said.

The DRC, Rwanda and Burundi were Belgian colonies until their independence in the early 1960s and Brussels' influence on the world stage "rests heavily on central Africa", Kabamba noted.

For Rwanda, the rift caused some painful job losses at home due to the halting of some Brussels-funded development projects, according to a European diplomatic source in Kigali.

Belgium's Enabel development agency fired dozens of employees and terminated health, agriculture and other development programmes worth more than 112 million euros ($128 million).

Among others affected, a local NGO working on sensitive sexual issues, including the distribution of condoms in schools, had to return about $120,000 earmarked for health awareness programmes.

'No small matter'

The spat also caused bureaucratic headaches for Rwandans abroad.

"Not having an embassy in Belgium, where there is a large Rwandan diaspora, was no small matter. There is a high level of mobility between the two countries," added Verelst of the ISS.

But the diplomatic source said the main reason for the reconciliation was "probably more political", with Kigali looking at Europe as a counterweight to US influence in the region.

The rapprochement, which calls for the reopening of diplomatic missions, was announced by the two countries' foreign ministers on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.

In a joint statement, Belgium and Rwanda emphasised their commitment to maintaining "an open, candid and transparent dialogue" to address "bilateral differences" and "outstanding disagreements on international issues".

Kabamba said the reconciliation was also "a victory" for Qatar, which mediated between Belgium and Rwanda, and has played a growing role in central Africa.

In 2025 the Gulf state hosted talks between Kinshasa and the M23 militia, which has seized large swathes of territory in eastern DRC with Rwanda's help since 2021.

"Not being able to talk with Rwanda cuts us off from a channel of dialogue to discuss solutions to the conflict in the eastern DRC, even when we have different perspectives," Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot later told journalists.

But "restoring relations does not mean that we are renouncing our position or that we have chosen to remain silent. I will continue to defend the integrity and sovereignty of the DRC and to demand the withdrawal of Rwandan troops", he added.