High-ranking officials in Rwanda and Burundi have admitted that diplomatic efforts to resolve the prolonged border closure between the two countries have encountered significant challenges, as the standoff approaches its second year.
Speaking on Friday during a workshop reviewing his first 100 days in office, Burundi’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Edouard Bizimana, confirmed that tensions between the two countries persist but stressed that dialogue remains the only viable path forward.
“We are cousins; we live very close to each other, we share borders, we share culture,” Bizimana said. “I do not think this is a major problem that should lead to closing all the channels. There are issues, yes, but they will be resolved through dialogue, and the contacts exist and continue—even if they may not be very fluid.”
Relations between the two East African neighbors have been fraught for nearly a decade, particularly after Burundi’s failed 2015 coup attempt, which Gitega accused Rwanda of supporting—an allegation Kigali has consistently denied. Although borders reopened in 2022 under President Evariste Ndayishimiye, tensions flared again as Burundian authorities accused Rwanda of supporting rebel groups, including the Red-Tabara movement.
In early 2024, Burundi reclosed its land borders, with President Ndayishimiye alleging that Rwanda was hosting coup plotters and backing insurgents. Kigali has repeatedly rejected the claims.
During a press conference in Kigali on Thursday, Rwandan President Paul Kagame insisted that his country bears no responsibility for the border closure, reaffirming that Rwanda has kept all its crossings open.
“There is no opening of the borders. The borders remain exactly as they were,” Kagame said. “Burundians were the ones who decided to close the borders. We have never closed them. Even now, some people travel from Burundi to here, and there are those here who go to Burundi.”
Earlier this year, Rwanda’s Foreign Affairs Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe had suggested that both countries were close to resolving the diplomatic standoff after intelligence chiefs from both sides reportedly held talks between February and March. But optimism faded when President Ndayishimiye claimed Rwanda was planning to attack Burundi—an assertion Nduhungirehe described as “unfortunate” and damaging to the negotiations.
Despite setbacks, officials on both sides say they remain committed to diplomatic dialogue. Minister Bizimana reaffirmed that even in moments of heightened tension, channels should never be entirely closed.
“Even when countries reach the point of exchanging bombs, the diplomatic path always remains open,” he said. “We continue [talking] because we have many things that connect us. We have already made significant efforts to ensure things progress well, even though some things remain undone.”
President Kagame echoed a similar sentiment, urging both countries to continue seeking peaceful coexistence. “While we are all trying to figure things out—how should we live together better than this, to make things even better? People talk. We have never wanted to have bad relations with our neighbors,” he said.
The continued closure of land borders has deepened the strain on citizens and regional trade. Travelers now endure long detours through neighboring countries to move between Rwanda and Burundi. Despite the stalemate, air travel between the two nations remains operational.
Leave a comment