Rwanda and Qatar Sign Aviation & Tourism Agreements

Rwanda and Qatar have signed agreements concerning aviation and tourism following a three-day visit by the Emir of Qatar to Kigali. President Kagame previously visited Doha in November 2018, where a number of deals were agreed between the two countries, covering economic, commercial and technical areas of cooperation.

The deals pave the way for Qatari investment in Rwanda’s Bugesera Airport, with strategic cooperation between Rwanda’s Aviation Travel (ATL) and Logistics and Qatar Airways agreed. Plans for the airport are aimed at making it the country’s largest. However, construction has stalled following disagreements regarding design, meaning the 2020 completion date is likely to overrun.

Qatar has recently been scaling up its engagement in the region and has three embassies in East Africa, in Kenya, Tanzania and South Sudan.