This article covers India's development partnership with Rwanda: lines of credit, grant projects and institutions set up with Indian support, training and capacity building, humanitarian and health assistance, and cooperation in defence, agriculture, and science and digital technology. Its source is the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) bilateral brief of April 2026.

Framework under the India-Africa Forum Summit

According to the MEA brief of April 2026, India and Rwanda cooperate under the India-Africa Forum Summit (IAFS) at the African Union (AU) level and at the level of the Regional Economic Communities (RECs). The brief describes India's engagement with Rwanda as consultative, response-based and focused on developing Rwandan capacities and human capital. Indian assistance has also been guided by the announcements India made at the India-Africa Forum Summits in 2008, 2011 and 2015.

Lines of credit

The brief records the following Indian Lines of Credit (LoC) for Rwanda:

  • An LoC of US$ 80 million, under which a 28 MW Hydroelectric Project on the Nyabarongo River was completed and commissioned in early 2016. The brief states that the project has substantially augmented Rwanda's total electricity generation capacity.
  • An LoC extended in 2013 totalling US $ 120.05 million for the development of the Export Targeted Irrigated Agriculture Project and its expansion.
  • An LoC agreement of US$ 100 million, signed in July 2018, for development of Industrial Parks and expansion of Kigali SEZ.
  • An LoC agreement of US $ 100 million, signed in July 2018, for financing components of Rwanda's Agriculture Project Schemes.

Institutions set up with Indian support

Following the first India Africa Forum Summit (IAFS-I), Rwanda was nominated by the AU as one of the recipients to host the India-Africa Vocational Training Centre. Shri Kalraj Mishra, Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, visited Kigali in January 2015 to inaugurate the Vocational Training Institute set up with Government of India assistance.

As part of its initiatives under IAFS-II, India established the India-Africa Entrepreneurship Development Centre (IAEDC) in Kigali. The brief states that the centre is to nurture the spirit of entrepreneurship through education, training and business advisory services. The Rwanda India Entrepreneurship Development Centre was inaugurated by Shri V. Muraleedharan, MoS for External Affairs and Parliamentary Affairs, on 15 November 2021.

Grants and announcements

Under the Pan Africa e-Network project, tele-medicine and tele-education centres were set up in Rwanda in 2009. Their aim was to enable Rwandan doctors to consult their Indian counterparts and to provide medical consultation and treatment for patients and education for students.

Solar electrification of 35 schools in rural Rwanda was completed in 2014 under a grant of Rs. 2.59 Crore from the Government of India.

During his State visit in July 2018, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced:

  • the setting up of a Task Force in the field of digital education, including the provision of an e-library
  • the gift of 100,000 books of the National Council of Education Research and Training (NCERT), and support for digitalisation and online access of education books and related learning material
  • the setting up of the Entrepreneurship Development Centre in Kigali
  • 25 fully funded slots for short-term training in dairy production and processing
  • a contribution of US $10,000 each to the Gisozi Genocide Memorial in Kigali and to the Imbuto Foundation, run by the First Lady of Rwanda, for the education of the girl child
  • a gift of 200 cows worth US$ 200,000 to Rwanda's Girinka programme, a social protection scheme of one cow, one family

Health assistance

The brief lists the following assistance in the health sector:

  • Medicines worth US $ 2 million gifted in early 2019 to fight HIV AIDS, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C
  • 50,000 doses of COVISHIELD Vaccine produced by the Serum Institute of India (SII), which arrived at Kigali International Airport on 05 March 2021
  • Another batch of HIV AIDS medicine, worth Rs.1.2 crore, gifted on 5 October 2021

At the request of the Government of Rwanda, a grant of US$ one million (INR 8,41,90,000) from the India-UN Development Partnership Fund was approved in May 2024 for the project "Aim for change! Advancing Rwanda's Midwifery to accelerate the realization of Zero preventable maternal deaths through South-South cooperation". The UNFPA, the Government of Rwanda and the High Commission of India, Kigali launched the project jointly on 20 May 2025.

Training and capacity building

Around 400 Rwandans have attended capacity building programmes under ITEC, according to the brief. In FY 2025-26, 54 Rwandan nationals attended ITEC training programmes for civilians.

Special ITEC training programmes have also been organised for Rwanda. Under a MoU on Cooperation in Forensic Sciences signed between the Government of Rwanda and Gujarat Forensic Sciences University in January 2017, several Rwandan officials have been trained in forensic science.

Forty-seven Rwandan applicants took part in two special ITEC courses at EDII Ahmedabad in 2024: "Developing Entrepreneurship within Cooperatives" from February 12 to March 1, 2024, and "Bringing Digital Efficiency in Cooperatives" from March 4-22, 2024. In addition, 15 diplomats from Rwanda's Ministry of Foreign Affairs & International Cooperation took part in the first training programme at SSIFS New Delhi from 11-20 December 2024.

Defence cooperation

An MoU on Defence Co-operation was signed in 2018. Earlier, in April 2012, Gen. James Kaberebe, Minister of Defence, led a three-member delegation to DefExpo India 2012, where he met the Defence Minister of India and discussed possible future cooperation in defence.

The first meeting of the Joint Defence Cooperation Committee (JDCC) was held in Kigali on February 8, 2024. The Indian delegation was led by Shri Amitabh Prasad, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Defence, and the Rwandan delegation by Brig Gen Patrick Karuretwa, Head International Military Cooperation, Rwanda Defence Force. The two sides discussed training cooperation, joint military exercises and defence industrial cooperation, and the Indian delegation highlighted the capacity of Indian defence manufacturers to export to friendly countries.

Following these discussions, a 3-member delegation of the Indian Air Force (IAF) visited Rwanda from 02-06 June 2025 to assess the overhaul requirements of Mi-17 helicopters and discuss maintenance training for Rwandan technicians.

Officers from the Rwanda Defence Forces (RDF) have also been using training slots in India. Col. Callixte Migabo of the Rwanda Defence Force took part in the 65th National Defence College (NDC) course in New Delhi from January to November 2025.

Agriculture

Agriculture has featured in several ministerial visits. Shri Arun Yadav, Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Processing Industries, visited Rwanda in May 2011 to advance sectoral cooperation. Dr. Agnes Matilda Kalibata, Minister of Agriculture and Animal Resources, visited India in January 2013 at the invitation of the Minister of Water Resources.

Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Minister of Jal Shakti, visited Kigali on 06-07 September 2018 to take part in the Africa Green Revolution Forum (AGRF).

Science and digital technology

Ms. Paula Ingabire, Rwanda's Minister of ICT and Innovation, visited New Delhi from 17-20 February 2026 for the AI Impact Summit 2026. She co-chaired the session "Shaping Equitable AI Transitions: Building Global Human Capital for the Age of AI". On the sidelines, she held a bilateral meeting with Dr. Jitendra Singh, MoS (Independent Charge) for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences.