Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Burundi
On August 29, 2024, the new Ambassador-designate of the French Republic to Burundi, His Excellency Mr. Sébastien MINOT, presented to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Development Cooperation, His Excellency Ambassador Albert SHINGIRO, the figurative copies of his credentials accrediting him as the Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of France to Burundi. They discussed the state of bilateral cooperation between the two countries, as well as the situation in the Great Lakes region.
Burundi and France have maintained friendly and cooperative relations since Burundi’s independence. The cultural and technical cooperation agreement signed between the two countries has served as a basis for dialogue. Before the crisis of 1993, this cooperation had been consistent and multifaceted. It covered the following sectors: agriculture and livestock breeding, rural and urban development, infrastructure, communication, education, health, defense and security, regional planning and tourism. This cooperation has gradually resumed its activities, with the opening of a number of development projects in several areas of national life, and a Partnership Framework Document (PFD) 2006-2010 has been signed.
Before the 2015 crisis, several specific financing agreements were signed and implemented. Today, France channels its development projects through its Development Agency (AFD). AFD is currently active in four sectors: education, through the TWIGE NEZA project, with a total budget of 45 million euros extended on a 3-year period; health, through a number of projects, in particular to strengthen the skills of health personnel; energy, with a budget of ten million euros for the electrification of the country; and the environment (Enhancement of tourist areas). AFD plans to support the RUSIZI III project.
France is actively involved in military cooperation with Burundi. This is demonstrated by the granting of training courses at various schools with a regional focus: in Gabon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Senegal, Equatorial Guinea and France.
As part of the implementation of Burundi’s vision: “An emerging country by 2040 and a developed country by 2060”, other ways and means can be explored to broaden the areas of cooperation, especially in the sectors of agriculture and livestock breeding, rural and urban development, infrastructure, communication, regional planning and tourism,etc.