President Bola Tinubu held a private lunch with Rwandan President Paul Kagame on Sunday in Paris, France, where the two leaders discussed global issues and strategies to promote Africa’s interests.
The Presidency shared the development through a photo news showing Tinubu and Kagame seated at a table in what appeared to be an upscale Parisian restaurant, engaged in conversation over a meal.
“President Bola Tinubu at a private lunch in Paris with the President of the Republic of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, discussing world affairs and advancing Africa. Sunday, January 4, 2026,” the statement read.
The meeting comes a week after Tinubu left Lagos for Europe on December 28, 2025, for his end-of-year break.
Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, confirmed the trip, noting that it preceded Tinubu’s participation in the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week Summit in early January 2026. The UAE President, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, invited Tinubu to attend the weeklong event, which gathers leaders from government, business, and civil society to shape sustainable development agendas.
The Presidency did not specify all the European countries Tinubu would visit, though he has historically spent parts of his annual leave in France and the United Kingdom.
Sunday’s lunch continues a series of interactions between Tinubu and Kagame, who have maintained a close working relationship since Tinubu took office in May 2023. Kagame attended Tinubu’s inauguration in Abuja on May 29, 2023.
The two leaders previously met in Abu Dhabi on January 13, 2025, on the eve of that year’s Sustainability Week, where Tinubu described their discussions as “meaningful conversations.” Following that meeting, Tinubu stated, “Africa has what it takes to develop itself. We have the resources, the people, and the capacity.
“We must look inward to improve intra-African trade and collaboration to benefit the African people and the continent. The time for Africa is now. We can. We must. We will.”
Nigeria and Rwanda have maintained cordial relations since Rwanda’s independence in 1962, collaborating in bilateral and multilateral forums including the United Nations, African Union, and Commonwealth of Nations. The partnership has been reinforced through bilateral agreements such as the Bilateral Air Service Agreement allowing multiple weekly RwandAir flights to Abuja and Lagos, and the Technical Aids Corps scheme, which deploys Nigerian professionals to Rwanda.
Tinubu’s European trip faced criticism from opposition parties, with the African Democratic Congress and Labour Party questioning the timing as Nigeria contends with rising insecurity, including foreign military interventions in the North.
Since taking office on May 29, 2023, Tinubu has completed at least 46 foreign trips, spending an estimated 192 days abroad as of October 2025.