In 2023, President Kagame met with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on the sidelines of the 78th session of UN General Assembly. They discussed ways to further strengthen cooperation between Rwanda and Italy, in areas of mutual interest including defense, agriculture, health, technology and more.
KIGALI – Italy has announced that it has begun negotiations with Rwanda over plans to establish a migrant return hub as part of a new European strategy to speed up the deportation of irregular migrants.
Rwanda is among three African countries—alongside Uganda and Ghana—where preliminary discussions are underway on hosting pilot return centres that would be jointly managed by European countries and funded by the European Union.
The proposal forms part of Italy’s push for a tougher European approach to irregular migration, following an extraordinary meeting of EU interior ministers convened after renewed migration pressure at the Spanish enclave of Ceuta.
Rather than acting alone as it did under its migration agreement with Albania, Italy says it is now working with Denmark, Austria and the Netherlands to establish a network of return hubs in third countries.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government hopes the first centres could become operational by 2027, subject to agreements with host countries and support from the European Commission.
Meloni’s government says Rwanda, Uganda and Ghana are being considered because initial negotiations have already begun, although it does not indicate how far the discussions have progressed or whether any of the countries have agreed to host the facilities.
The proposed centres would be used to receive irregular migrants who have exhausted legal avenues to remain in Europe before facilitating their return to their countries of origin.
Italy is also seeking to complement the initiative with broader bilateral cooperation, including investment and development partnerships modelled on its Mattei Plan for Africa, as well as possible trade incentives for participating countries.
The proposal was expected to be presented by Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi during an extraordinary videoconference of EU interior ministers this coming Saturday, where member states discussed strengthening external border controls, combating migrant smuggling networks and accelerating migrant returns.
If implemented, the initiative would mark a significant expansion of Europe’s external migration policy, with Rwanda potentially becoming one of the first African countries to host an EU-backed migrant return hub.
Neither the Government of Rwanda nor the European Commission had publicly commented on the reported negotiations at the time of publication.
