Belgium and Rwanda restore diplomatic ties after 18-month rift over DR Congo

Diplomatic restoration at the United Nations

Belgium and Rwanda agreed on 22 September 2026 to restore their diplomatic relations, concluding an 18-month breakdown triggered by fighting in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot and Rwandan Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe announced the decision during the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. The foreign ministries of both nations released a joint statement alongside photographs of the two ministers shaking hands outside the United Nations headquarters, confirming that bilateral embassies in Brussels and Kigali will reopen in the near future.

The agreement followed a series of meetings and informal contacts held between Prévot and Nduhungirehe over several months. In their joint statement, the two governments expressed gratitude to Qatar for mediating the initial contact and facilitating a first meeting between the foreign ministers in June 2025. Both administrations affirmed a mutual commitment to open and transparent dialogue to address bilateral disagreements and manage ongoing differences over international issues in a constructive spirit.

Origins of the March 2025 diplomatic breakdown

The formal rupture between the two countries occurred on 17 March 2025, when the government of Rwandan President Paul Kagame severed ties with Belgium and expelled Belgian diplomats. Kigali accused the Belgian government of taking Kinshasa's side in the eastern Congolese war and dismissed Belgian diplomatic pressure as an attempt to maintain neocolonial illusions. Belgium and Rwanda expelled each other's diplomatic personnel as bilateral communications ceased entirely.

The diplomatic crisis developed directly from the escalation of fighting in eastern DR Congo, where both Congo and Rwanda are former Belgian colonies. In December 2024, the AFC and M23 rebel movement launched an offensive across North Kivu and South Kivu provinces. By early 2025, rebel forces seized control of Goma, the capital of North Kivu, and Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu, establishing authority across large areas of both provinces. Belgium emerged as one of the most vocal international critics of Kigali, calling on the European Union to implement sanctions against Rwanda for violating Congolese sovereignty. Following the adoption of Council of the European Union sanctions targeting individuals held responsible for the destabilization of eastern Congo, Rwanda moved to sever all formal ties with Brussels.

Ongoing friction over the conflict in eastern Congo

While both governments agreed to reopen embassies and re-establish direct communication channels, substantive policy disagreements regarding eastern Congo remain unresolved. The United Nations and Western governments have stated that Rwanda provides direct military backing to the M23 rebel movement, an assertion that the Rwandan government denies. Rwandan authorities state that their actions are defensive measures against a Hutu militia operating alongside the Congolese armed forces. In Rwanda, extremist Hutus killed approximately 800,000 people during the 1994 genocide, mostly members of the Tutsi minority.

Prévot stated that restoring formal diplomatic relations does not alter Belgium's foreign policy regarding central Africa or Congolese sovereignty. He described the agreement as a necessary step for structured engagement and noted that bilateral talks would continue to address regional disputes directly.

Restoring diplomatic relations between states does not mean abandoning our position, but having structured channels for dialogue, and I will continue to defend the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the DRC.

Both foreign ministries confirmed that bilateral dialogue will proceed systematically, with embassy staff expected to return to their posts in Brussels and Kigali as reopening arrangements conclude.