Belgium and Rwanda restored diplomatic relations on Tuesday, Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot said on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
A joint statement with Rwandan Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe confirmed the move.
Prévot said the restoration marked the end of a process of frank talks with his Rwandan counterpart, and the result of what he described as a mutually respectful effort.
He said both sides had agreed on the importance of maintaining regular dialogue, including on areas where disagreements remain, notably the conflict in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Prévot also said Belgium would continue to defend the DRC’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.
Rwanda cut diplomatic ties with Belgium on 17 March 2025, accusing Brussels of taking sides against Kigali in the ongoing conflict in east of the DRC.
The break came after the EU Council in Brussels adopted sanctions against several people deemed responsible for the situation in eastern DRC, a dossier in which Belgium had played an active role at European level.
Prévot said Belgium wanted to use its regional expertise to support mediation efforts and would continue to press all parties to respect commitments made under the Doha and Washington processes, the two diplomatic initiatives aimed at resolving the armed conflict in eastern DRC.
According to the joint statement, the two countries’ embassies will reopen in the near term.
Initially, each mission will be headed by a chargé d’affaires ad interim, supported by a diplomat or consul and a small technical team.
Requests for the approval of new ambassadors will be submitted later as part of a future diplomatic reshuffle.
The joint statement said the two ministers had held meetings and informal contacts in recent months.
It added that several points of disagreement and misunderstanding had been discussed constructively, and that both countries expressed sincere gratitude to the Qatari authorities for facilitating the ministers’ first meeting in Doha in June 2025, just three months after the rupture.
Rwanda is accused of backing the advance of the M23 rebel group in North and South Kivu, where the rebels have seized provincial capitals Goma and Bukavu at the cost of thousands of lives, according to the UN, amid a wider struggle over minerals and rare earth resources.
