KIGALI, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- The Rwandan Foreign Minister Vincent Biruta on Tuesday met his Burundian counterpart Albert Shingiro at Nemba One Stop Border Post to improve relations, which have been on a downswing since 2015.
The meeting comes barely two months after the meeting of military intelligence chiefs from Rwanda and Burundi that was held at the same border post. It is the first of its kind since 2015 when the ties between the two countries became deteriorated after Burundi accused Rwanda of hosting and supporting perpetrators of the 2015 coup plot against then Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza.
"Rwanda is willing to play its part to improve bilateral relations with Burundi to enable the citizens of the two countries to coexist as before," Biruta said while opening the meeting.
The two neighboring countries share a lot in common in terms of culture, language, and the two peoples are more than neighbours but brothers and sisters, he said, who called the meeting "a big step" towards improving the bilateral relations.
"There is no doubt we shall have fruitful discussions towards restoring our bilateral relations," said Shingiro at the meeting.
The Burundian government is hopeful that the meetings between the two countries will ensure the relations back to normal as soon as possible, he said.
The meeting entered into a closed-door session after the opening remarks. Enditem
