According to the Office of the President, the two discussed Rwanda’s partnership with the African Development Bank and exchanged priorities for accelerating investment, economic growth and Africa’s development.

The meeting came as the two-day Africa Mindset Reset Forum brought together African leaders, policymakers, young people and other participants in Kigali to discuss approaches to the continent’s development and leadership.

Speaking at the forum, Kagame said Africa has the people and resources needed to succeed but is held back by attitudes that Africans need to confront.

He urged Africans to recognise and support one another’s achievements instead of continually looking outside the continent for validation and inspiration.

The meeting with the AfDB president also comes against the backdrop of the Bank’s growing financial engagement with Rwanda.

The AfDB plans to invest more than $400 million, equivalent to about Rwf590 billion, in Rwanda’s agriculture sector over the next three years, according to its 2025 Country Portfolio Performance Review released on August 20.

The planned investment is part of efforts to rebalance the Bank’s Rwanda portfolio, which is currently dominated by infrastructure, accounting for 87% of total commitments.

The Bank’s active portfolio in Rwanda stood at $2.6 billion as of January 2026, covering 29 operations.

The agriculture sector currently represents a relatively small share of the portfolio, with agriculture, communications, social and urban development together accounting for 6% of its value.

A $348 million Climate Smart Agriculture Results-Based Financing programme is among the agriculture operations in the Bank’s pipeline.