Relations between Rwanda and Zimbabwe got a boost three years ago in October 2018 when President Paul Kagame appointed an ambassador to the country for the first time.

Since then, Rwanda’s interests in the country have been represented by Amb. James Musoni.

Prior to Musoni’s appointment, Rwanda’s interests were overseen by its ambassador to South Africa.

The decision was not reached by accident as President Kagame had expressed willingness to work with Zimbabwe as he attended the inauguration of Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa who replaced Robert Mugabe.

The development came few days after Rwanda’s carrier, RwandAir started operating flights to Harare in Zimbabwe through Lusaka in Zambia.

As he received credentials from Amb. Musoni, President Mnangagwa appreciated the fact that RwandAir was flying to Harare, as well as Rwanda’s decision to open a resident embassy in Harare.

He highlighted that it will strengthen further the existing cordial bilateral relationship between the two countries.

In 2019, President Mnangagwa visited Rwanda Development Board (RDB) and commended Rwanda’s efforts to facilitate trade.

The visit was followed by the establishment of Rwanda- Zimbabwe Trade and Investment Conference.

During similar conference held in Kigali last year, both countries signed five cooperation agreements in the area of ICT and e-governance, environment and climate change, agriculture and livestock, tourism as well as a memorandum of understanding to organize business events between Rwanda’s Private Sector Federation (PSF) and the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries.

This year, a delegation of Rwandans also visited Zimbabwe for a trade conference between both countries.

As he officiated the opening of the conference, President Mnangagwa stressed the need for investors to take advantage of friendly relations between the two countries.

“This timely visit demonstrates the focus, commitment and determination to the prime objectives we set for ourselves in broadening the trade and investment partnerships between our two countries. We have a collective responsibility to shift the historical trend which was characterized by low trade volumes between our two friendly countries despite the existence of huge potential between our two economies."

On building on the partnerships between Rwanda Development Board (RDB) and the National Trade Development and Promotion Organization of the Republic of Zimbabwe (ZimTrade), Mnangagwa challenged both strategic bodies of each jurisdiction to deploy their capabilities and all-encompassing institutional capacities towards driving the sustainable socio-economic development of both countries.

Last week, both countries signed three more collaborative frameworks increasing the areas for partnership to 22 as the countries continue excellent working interchanges in many areas.

Rwanda plans to recruit 477 teachers from Zimbabwe under the professional memorandum of understanding signed last year that allows the two republics to exchange education personnel and expertise.

This year, Rwanda has started recruiting Zimbabweans to fill critical skill gaps in the education sector, exploiting the good bilateral relations that exist between the two countries.

Speaking at the inauguration of Rwanda’s embassy on Sunday, Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Vincent Biruta said that Rwanda and Zimbawe have shared history of fighting inequalities and the culture of impunity.

The ceremony was also attended by Rwanda’s Ambassador in Zimbabwe and senior government officials from Zimbabwe.

Minister Biruta said that collaboration between African countries is paramount to address problems facing the continent.

He reiterated Rwanda’s commitment to strengthen bilateral ties with Zimbabwe for mutual benefits.

On Friday last week, Rwanda and Zimbawe signed three agreements including the extradition treaty, a memorandum of understanding on immigration cooperation and another memorandum on cooperation when investigating civil aircraft accidents and serious incidents.

Zimbabwe considers Rwanda as a gateway to larger regional markets like the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Zimbabwe can also serve as a passageway for Rwanda’s goods to southern Africa.

The CEO of ZimTrade, Allan Majuru has also underscored that his country’s cooperation with Rwanda will open doors to different markets in East Africa.

He revealed that Zimbabweans can tap into opportunities available in Rwanda in the areas of floriculture, tourism, construction and education.

The official inauguration of Rwanda's embassy in Harare took place on Sunday.