Le Soleil and the Rwandan Embassy explore new avenues of collaboration February 13, 2026

The Rwandan embassy and the national daily “Le Soleil” want to find a collaboration formula to better support the dynamic of cooperation between Dakar and Kigali. Leads were cleared yesterday, during the visit of the Rwandan ambassador to Dakar to the newspaper’s premises.

The Rwandan ambassador to Senegal yesterday visited the premises of the national daily “Le Soleil”. Festus Bizimana was received by the general director, Lamine Niang, surrounded by his main collaborators, in particular the director of Editorial, Daouda Mané, and the director of Web Editorial, Moussa Diop. During this meeting marked by cordiality and fraternity, the two parties discussed the prospects of media collaboration between “Le Soleil” and the Rwandan embassy in Dakar. This new collaboration formula will help to better support the dynamic of cooperation between Dakar and Kigali.

In his speech, the general director of “Soleil” recalled the visit of the President of the Republic to Rwanda from October 17 to 19, 2025. This first trip by the Senegalese head of state to the Land of a Thousand Hills was marked by the signing of five cooperation agreements in several areas. According to Lamine Niang, Bassirou Diomaye Faye was “well received” on Rwandan soil, which denotes, in his opinion, the hospitality of this country which inspires in terms of economic dynamism, successful integration for the Senegalese and Africans in general. Mr. Niang above all explained the role that a public media like “Le Soleil” can play in supporting public policies, but also cooperation dynamics. Under his leadership, “Le Soleil” is in a phase of popularizing the issues of South-South cooperation, in order to show citizens that African synergies also bring results. “Other countries have managed to come together; today, Africa must be part of this dynamic,” called Mr. Niang.

Ambassador Festus Bizimana recalled certain emblematic reforms in Rwanda. For several years, Kigali has abolished entry visas for all Africans. All Africans are free to enter Rwanda whenever they wish, without the need for a visa. A decision by Rwandan President Paul Kagame, which facilitates mobility on the African continent. Festus Bizimana also spoke of concrete examples of cooperation and mutual inspiration. According to him, Rwanda was inspired by Senegal to build the Kigali Arena. Today, he said, this infrastructure hosts more than twenty international events per year. Thus, he invited, in return, Senegal to come and draw inspiration from the Rwandan model to better exploit the Dakar Arena. “We don’t need to go anywhere else to learn. We have our realities, our cultures. It is from them that we must build our solutions,” he argued.

The diplomat also recalled that Rwanda hosted the World Cycling Championships last year, a first in Africa. In 2026, Senegal will host the Youth Olympic Games. This event of international dimension will be held for the first time on African soil. So many opportunities to strengthen cooperation.

Even if “Le Soleil” has always provided media coverage of the various events from Rwanda to Dakar, both parties want to go further. They want to explore a more structured cooperation dynamic that will extend beyond events.

Aliou Ngamby NDIAYE