President Paul Kagame is scheduled to begin a two-day official visit to Oman on Monday, September 7, as Rwanda and the Gulf state seek to build on a series of agreements reached earlier this year in logistics, aviation, digital technology and infrastructure.
The visit is expected to provide an opportunity to review progress on those areas and discuss additional issues of mutual interest. Any new agreements or commitments would be confirmed during or after the visit.
The trip comes as relations between Rwanda and Oman have gained momentum in recent years, with both governments increasingly focusing on economic and investment opportunities.
Rwanda and Oman established diplomatic relations in March 1998, while commercial links between the two sides predate formal diplomatic ties. Rwanda’s government has previously noted that Omani merchants established some of the country’s early commercial centres in the early 20th century.
In September 2025, Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi met Rwanda’s Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. The discussions covered investment, agriculture, tourism and education, with both sides expressing interest in expanding the partnership.
The relationship accelerated further in January 2026, when Nduhungirehe led a high-level Rwandan delegation to Muscat for talks with Omani officials.
The two countries signed four agreements and cooperation programmes covering logistics and dry ports, supply-chain development, data centres and cloud computing, infrastructure, artificial intelligence, and stronger air connectivity.
One of the agreements focused on developing logistics services and dry ports, an area of particular relevance to Rwanda as a landlocked country seeking more efficient access to international markets.
The two sides also agreed to strengthen cooperation in ICT, data centres, cloud computing and artificial intelligence, including skills development, knowledge exchange and cooperation on policies and regulations.
A major development has been the expansion of direct air links between the two countries. Oman Air announced plans in January to launch direct Muscat–Kigali services, while Oman’s low-cost carrier SalamAir subsequently launched its own direct route between the two cities in July 2026.
SalamAir’s twice-weekly service has added another connection between Rwanda and the Gulf, with the route expected to facilitate travel, trade, tourism and investment between the two regions.
The January discussions also included cooperation in tourism. Omani and Rwandan officials explored joint marketing, tourism-resource development and the exchange of expertise in managing tourism products.
The expanding relationship reflects Rwanda’s broader effort to diversify its economic partnerships beyond traditional markets and strengthen links with Gulf economies. For Oman, Rwanda offers access to an increasingly connected East African market and a potential platform for investment and commercial activity on the continent.
Kagame’s visit therefore comes at a time when bilateral ties are moving beyond diplomatic engagement toward practical cooperation in areas including aviation, logistics, digital infrastructure, investment and tourism.
With more than 28 years of formal diplomatic relations and a renewed focus on commercial connectivity, the visit could mark another step in the development of a relationship increasingly centred on trade, investment and links between East Africa and the Gulf.
