Qatar Airways And Rwandair Closing In On Deal, Says Kagame

Rwandas president Paul Kagame has suggested that the ongoing discussions around Qatar Airways acquiring a 49 stake in the countrys national airline, RwandAir, and a 60 stake in the new Bugesera International Airport outside Kigali are nearing completion after protracted negotiations.

The Qatar-Rwanda partnership over the airline and the airport has made very good progress, he said. While declining to be precise with dates and amounts, the Rwandan president said that overall I can say there has been very good progress it wont be a long time until we see these things playing out certain things are being concluded.

Qatar Airways and RwandAir have been in negotiations for around five years, with talks being delayed several times as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and then the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. However, Qatar Airways has long been interested in acquiring a stake in RwandAir in order to advance its broader strategy of expanding its operations in East and Central Africa. The two airlines have already signed a codeshare agreement and launched direct flights between Kigali and Doha to strengthen ties.

The deal to acquire part of Bugesera International Airport, a 1.3bn project which is expected to be completed by 2028, would also see Qatar Airways establish its first cargo hub outside of Qatar.

However, despite President Kagames recent comments, it is not yet clear when or even if the deal will finally be concluded. Sindy Foster, an African aviation analyst and principal managing partner at London-based aviation consultancy firm Avaero Capital Partners, tells African Business that many reports speak of an imminent announcement but Im not so sure we need to continue to wait and see.