Rwanda: Rwanda, CAR Military Chiefs Discuss Cooperation

What the report says

Rwanda and the Central African Republic discussed expanding military cooperation during meetings in Kigali on November 3, according to The New Times, which was distributed by AllAfrica. Rwanda Defence Force Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Mubarakh Muganga met with Gen. Zéphirin Mamadou, the Central African Republic Armed Forces chief of general staff, at RDF headquarters in Kimihurura. Their talks focused on military training, operational coordination and carrying out existing agreements.

The CAR commander was in Rwanda on an official visit and also met Defence Minister Juvenal Marizamunda. The engagements were intended to deepen defence and military relations between the two countries. The report said the visit came alongside a graduation ceremony at the RDF Basic Military Training Centre in Nasho, Kirehe District, where 254 CAR officers and other ranks completed a six-month special operations force training course.

The article placed the talks in the context of a longer security partnership. Rwanda has supported CAR under the UN peacekeeping mission in the country since 2014, and later expanded cooperation through a bilateral defence arrangement in 2020. The two countries have also worked together on training and, more recently, signed a memorandum of understanding in February 2024 on policing and internal security. The latest meetings suggest that Rwanda and CAR are continuing to build on that wider security relationship.