ASTANA – President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev described Rwandan President Paul Kagame’s visit to Kazakhstan on May 28 as historic, marking the start of a new chapter in relations, reported Akorda.
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev with Paul Kagame. Photo credit: Akorda
New era of Kazakhstan–Rwanda relations
Kagame arrived in Kazakhstan on an official visit ahead of the Astana International Forum. During their meeting, Tokayev emphasized the potential for enhanced cooperation, noting Kazakhstan’s leading regional position in terms of GDP, as well as the development of IT technologies and artificial intelligence, fields he highlighted as priorities for collaboration.
“We have a very positive attitude towards Rwanda. Your economy is on the rise, and the country has achieved impressive economic growth. We need to build up contacts,” Tokayev said.
This marks Kagame’s second visit to Kazakhstan, the first being in 2015. He expressed Rwanda’s willingness to explore new opportunities for further beneficial cooperation.
The two leaders discussed expanding cooperation in the political, trade, economic, transport, logistics, agricultural, and digital sectors. They also exchanged views on regional and international issues.
Strategic sectors from logistics to digital transformation
On May 26, Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Murat Nurtleu met with Rwandan Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Olivier Nduhungirehe, to discuss cooperation in trade, logistics, the defense industry, and digitization.
They reaffirmed their readiness to improve the legal framework and encourage regular high-level exchanges. Considering the increasing role of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route in the interconnectedness of global markets, they stressed the importance of developing transit and logistics links.
Kazakhstan also proposed organizing mutual trade missions to encourage business contacts and promote direct interaction between chambers of commerce.
Given Kazakhstan’s achievements in the e-Gov system and the Smart Rwanda Initiative, prospects for cooperation in the IT sector were also discussed, particularly through Astana Hub, Central Asia’s largest tech park.
Bilateral trade to date
According to the Kazakh Ministry of Trade and Integration, bilateral trade totaled $381,700 in 2024, with imports from Rwanda accounting for the majority, and no Kazakh exports were recorded. This marks a 94.3% drop from $6.7 million in 2023. However, trade is slowly recovering: from January to March 2025, trade reached $104,700, a 14.4% increase.
The two nations are now working to deepen economic cooperation. Rwanda has expressed interest in start-up development, electronics, geological exploration, education, healthcare, strategic investment, and the supply of vaccines and certain minerals.
