Rwanda suspends development cooperation with Belgium

By Michael J Kavanagh, KIGALI Rwanda

Rwanda has officially suspended its 2024-2029 bilateral aid program with Belgium, citing Brussels’ aggressive campaign to block Rwanda’s access to development finance and its leading role in pushing for EU sanctions over Kigali’s alleged support for the M23 rebellion in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Rwandan soldiers escorting surrendering Congolese soldiers from Goma crossing to Gisenyi, Rwanda

In a strongly worded statement issued Tuesday, Kigali accused Belgium of using development finance as a tool of political leverage and undermining African-led mediation efforts to resolve the ongoing conflict in eastern DRC.

“Belgium has made a political decision to choose a side in this conflict, which is its right, but politicizing development is plainly wrong,” said Rwanda.

“No country in the region should have its development finance jeopardized as a tool of leverage,” the Rwandan government added.

Belgium, the former colonial ruler of both Rwanda and the DRC, has been at the forefront of international efforts to penalize Rwanda, particularly by pressing for EU sanctions and blocking military aid over Kigali’s support for M23 rebels.

Diplomatic sources indicate that Brussels is pushing for the suspension of the EU-Rwanda minerals agreement, a February 2024 deal that gave the European Union access to Rwanda’s critical raw materials for microchips and electric vehicles. 

The deal, which was heavily criticized by DRC President Félix Tshisekedi, granted the EU access to tin, tungsten, gold, niobium, and potential lithium and rare earth elements. 

Rwanda is also the world’s largest extractor of tantalum, a rare metal essential for chemical equipment and electronics.

Under the agreement, the EU committed €900 million (£750 million) to Rwanda’s infrastructure, raw materials extraction, health, and climate resilience, as part of its Global Gateway Initiative, a €300 billion rival to China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

However, amid rising allegations that Rwanda uses M23 rebels to control and exploit DRC’s mineral wealth, Belgian Foreign Minister Bernard Quintin recently stated that mere diplomatic declarations were insufficient and that Europe must use its economic levers to pressure Kigali.

“The international community must consider how to respond because declarations have not been enough. We have the levers, and we have to decide how to use them,” Quintin said during a visit to Morocco.

Brussels’ push for action has gained traction within EU institutions, with Belgian MEP Hilde Vautmans, who chairs the European Parliament’s EU-Africa delegation, calling for urgent measures against Rwanda, including targeted sanctions against Rwandan leaders; a freeze on EU development aid to Rwanda and the immediate suspension of the EU-Rwanda minerals agreement.

“Given the overwhelming evidence that Rwanda is involved in supporting the M23 rebels in eastern Congo, it is imperative that the EU takes urgent action,” Vautmans said.

Tensions between Belgium and Rwanda had already been strained before the latest fallout.