Egypt and Rwanda Sign Agreement to Exempt Official Passports from Visas

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdel Aty and his Rwandan counterpart Olivier Nduhungirehe signed a mutual visa exemption agreement for holders of official passports, on the sidelines of the current session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.


The signing comes in implementation of the outcomes of the summit that brought together Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame during his visit to Cairo last week, where both sides agreed to enhance bilateral relations and expand areas of cooperation to reflect the depth of historical ties between the two countries.


The official spokesperson for the Egyptian Foreign Ministry clarified that Minister Abdel Aty praised the significant momentum in relations between Cairo and Kigali, emphasizing Egypt's keenness to intensify economic, trade, and developmental cooperation to serve the interests of the two peoples and support development and stability efforts in Africa.


This step comes within the framework of Egypt's foreign policy aimed at deepening cooperation with East African countries, where Rwanda — dubbed the "Singapore of Africa" for its rapid economic growth (with a rate of nearly 8% annually between 2015 and 2023) — is an important strategic partner due to its geographical location in the heart of the continent and its investments in technology and tourism.


Egypt and Rwanda have longstanding relations through African initiatives such as NEPAD for peace and development, but these relations have seen a strong boost since President El-Sisi's visit to Rwanda in 2016, culminating in the recent summit in Cairo that gave a new impetus to the path of bilateral cooperation and the "Rwanda 2050" vision.