Rwanda has suspended its development cooperation with Belgium, accusing it of leading efforts to block Kigali’s access to international funding in response to the conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The move comes as Rwanda criticises Belgium for taking sides in the crisis and using development aid as a political tool.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Rwandan Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation alleged that Belgium, in collaboration with the DRC, had been pushing for restrictions on its access to development finance, including in multilateral institutions. Kigali argued that leveraging development aid to exert political pressure was inappropriate and counterproductive to ongoing peace efforts in the region.
Belgium has made a political decision to choose a side in this conflict, which is its right, but politicising development is plainly wrong,” the Ministry said.
“No country in the region should have its development finance jeopardized as a tool of leverage.”
Rwanda warned that such measures amounted to “unwarranted external interference” that could undermine the African Union-led mediation process, which is also backed by the East African Community (EAC) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC). It maintained that similar punitive actions had historically failed to resolve conflicts, instead prolonging instability.
“Punitive, one-sided measures can only be construed as unwarranted external interference that undermines the African-led mediation process, and thereby risks delaying the peaceful resolution of the conflict,” the Ministry said.
As a result, Rwanda declared that it was suspending the remainder of its 2024-2029 bilateral aid programme with Belgium, stating that there was “no longer a sound basis for development cooperation.”
The fallout between Rwanda and Belgium comes amid mounting European pressure on Kigali over its alleged involvement in the conflict in eastern DRC.
The European Parliament recently passed a resolution calling for the suspension of European aid to Rwanda, including a key minerals agreement between the EU and Kigali.
A majority of Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), 443 out of 720, voted in favour of urging the European Commission and the European Council to freeze the memorandum of understanding (MoU) on “sustainable value chains for raw materials” until Rwanda provides evidence that it has ceased interfering in the DRC.
The MoU had previously been condemned by the DRC government, which argued that it encouraged the looting of its vast mineral resources, allegedly by the M23 rebel group.
Rwanda has however consistently denied these allegations.
The non-binding resolution was introduced by a broad coalition of political groups, including the European People’s Party (EPP), the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D), the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), Renew Europe, the Greens/European Free Alliance (Greens/EFA), and The Left.
It also calls for freezing direct budgetary aid to Rwanda, halting military and security assistance to its armed forces, and imposing an arms embargo on both Rwandan forces and the M23 rebels.
