President Paul Kagame, who is on a two-day visit to Algeria, was received by his counterpart, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, for private talks. The Head of State arrived in Algeria on Tuesday, where he had the opportunity to visit and lay flowers at the Maqam Echahid Memorial, in honor of the heroes of Algeria who fell in the War of Independence of that country. President Kagame held talks with his Algerian counterpart, where their discussions focused on further promoting cooperation between African countries, in areas including cross-border trade and knowledge sharing. The leaders of the two countries also discussed the lessons learned by Rwanda and Algeria in the difficult journey of rebuilding after the difficult history they have gone through, including the Algerian War of Independence and the Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda in 1994. The Algerian War of Independence began in November 1954 and ended in July 1962. It was the war that put an end to the French colonial rule in Algeria, which had lasted for more than 130 years since it began in 1830. The war began when the National Liberation Front (FLN) launched attacks known as the Toussaint Rouge. The two sides signed a ceasefire agreement on July 1, 1962, and the people of the country held a referendum, aiming to gain independence. This goal of achieving independence was achieved four days later, on July 5, 1962.
The Algerian government estimates that at least 1.5 million people have died in the war. Late last year, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Olivier Nduhungirehe, held talks with his Algerian counterpart, Ahmed Attaf, in Sochi, Russia, focusing on bilateral relations. Algeria and Rwanda have cooperation in the fields of security and education, with Rwandan students studying in the country. In December 2023, Algeria opened its embassy in Rwanda. The bilateral relations span sectors including health, trade, investment, security, education, and others.
