Canada to Open Embassy in Rwanda for First Time

On Wednesday, Canada’s Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly stated that the country will open an embassy in Rwanda for the first time in history.

“We will be opening an embassy for the first time here in Rwanda, in Kigali,” Joly told reporters. “And we’ll have an ambassador also working from… Kigali.”

The foreign minister said that Ottawa needs more resources and tools for Rwanda because the voice of Canada “needs to be heard.”

According to Joly, Ottawa will be appointing a new ambassador to the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in a bid to invest in Canada’s diplomacy.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Joly are currently in Rwanda assisting the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) with 54 other countries.

Joly announced shortly after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau arrived in the country to begin a 10-day overseas trip that Canada will open an embassy in Rwanda as part of efforts to fight the influence of Russia and China in Africa.

“Yes, we know that Russia is present on the continent. Yes, we know that China is increasingly present also on the continent. We can’t be naive,” Joly told the reporters in Kigali.

“We need to make sure that we have the diplomats on the ground with eyes and ears listening to what’s going on, to make sure that we can play a positive role with Rwanda and the entire region.”