President Kagame Arrives in Oman for Two-Day State Visit

President Paul Kagame arrived in Oman on Monday for his first visit to the Gulf state, opening two days of talks with Sultan Haitham bin Tariq as Rwanda seeks to turn a growing relationship into practical cooperation.

Kagame was received by the Omani sultan at Al Hosn Palace in Salalah. The visit ends Tuesday and is expected to include the signing of new agreements. Rwanda and Oman established diplomatic ties in 1982, but their engagement has gained momentum in recent years across trade, investment, aviation, logistics, technology, infrastructure and energy.

The visit follows a January trip to Oman by Rwanda’s Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe, who led a senior delegation. Those discussions produced initiatives covering airport development, logistics and inland ports, data centres, cloud computing and artificial intelligence. One proposed partnership brought the Rwanda Development Board together with Oman Airports Management Company to explore investment and cooperation in aviation infrastructure.

Energy has given the relationship a more strategic dimension. Rwanda has started moving toward direct government-to-government fuel procurement from Oman’s OQ Trading, with the first major shipments arriving through Tanzania’s Port of Tanga. The arrangement is intended to improve supply reliability, logistics, competition and price stability. The first shipment is expected to total about 40,000 tonnes, followed by regular supplies.

The countries have also strengthened direct connectivity. SalamAir launched twice-weekly Muscat-Kigali flights in July, following an Air Services Agreement signed in 2023 and brought into force in January 2026. Rwanda and Oman are also exploring cooperation in renewable energy, mining, hospitality, healthcare and education. Kagame’s delegation includes Nduhungirehe, Finance and Economic Planning Minister Yusuf Murangwa and Trade and Industry Minister Antoine Kajangwe.