Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Burundi
On January 12, 2024, a session was held at the National Assembly of Burundi where the guest of honor was the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Development Cooperation, Ambassador Albert Shingiro. At that session, several oral questions were asked to the Minister and the answers were given.
Asked about the status of the neighborhood relations between Burundi and Rwanda as well as the security situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Development Cooperation responded that today the relationship between Burundi and Rwanda is not good. However, he reassured the participants by giving an example which refers to the rain. He said that the relationship between Burundi and Rwanda is like the climate change where there is the heavy rainy season which can cause certain problems. There is another time when the rain is less abundant and the dry season in which case people as well as crops feel good. He also tranquilized that if today relations between Burundi and Rwanda are not very good, there will come a time when the relations will become normal as the French adage says: “after the rain, the good weather”.
Concerning the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the question was why the Democratic Republic of Congo did not close the borders with Rwanda like our country Burundi did. The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Development Cooperation responded that each country is sovereign in decision-making. Under no circumstances can one interfere in the decision-making of another country.
In conclusion, all participants agreed that the measure of closing the border between Burundi and Rwanda was a good decision for the interest of the country
