Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Burundi
On February 20, 2025, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Development cooperation, His Excellency Ambassador Albert SHINGIRO, was invited to the National Assembly of Burundi to present two bills concerning the ratification of two cooperation agreements between Burundi and Zambia on the one hand, and Burundi and Chad on the other.
Agreement with Zambia: A Strategic Partnership for Development
The first project concerns the updated cooperation agreement between the Republic of Burundi and the Republic of Zambia, signed on June 14, 2024. In his speech,
His Excellency Ambassador Albert SHINGIRO emphasized that this agreement reflects the mutual desire of both nations to strengthen, expand, and diversify their friendship and cooperation relations. It also aims at adapting the specific needs of both countries while taking into account their respective capacities.
The agreement covers a wide range of areas, including political, economic, scientific, technical, legal, communications, transport, agricultural and cultural cooperation. It is fully in line with Burundi’s vision of becoming an emerging country by 2040 and a developed country by 2060. The Minister specified that priority activities would be implemented in these sectors, notably the exchange of agricultural experience, research, economic cooperation and the export of products, as well as cooperation in the legal field, notably in the extradition of fugitive criminals.
Agreement with Chad: Strengthened cooperation in the Energy and Mining sector.
The second bill presented concerns the cooperation agreement between Burundi and Chad. This agreement aims at creating partnerships in sectors of shared interest, mainly in the socio-economic field. It also paves the way for future collaboration in a variety of sectors. His Excellency Ambassador Albert SHINGIRO detailed the agreement’s priority activities, which include training and technology transfer in the energy and mining sector, as well as strengthening partnerships in mining and joint initiatives in the renewable energy sector. Bilateral trade between the two countries will also be boosted.
National Assembly adopts bills ratifying the agreements
The bills relating to these agreements were submitted to the National Assembly of Burundi, where they were the subject of an exchange session. Following questions from the honorable members, which focused in particular on the priority activities of the two agreements, the National Assembly unanimously adopted the first agreement, and the second at 99.07%.
In conclusion, these agreements with Zambia and Chad illustrate Burundi’s ongoing efforts to diversify its international partnerships and build capacity in key areas for its economic and social development. The second agreement also marks an important step towards establishing new collaborations in strategic sectors such as energy and mining.
