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Published on: 04/23/2026 - 2:04 p.m.

In an interview with France 24, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Burundi, Édouard Bizimana, discusses the visit of the Burundian president to Burkina Faso, to the head of the junta Ibrahim Traoré. He explains that the objective was that "all African countries could be reintegrated" into the African Union. Concerning the situation in the east of the DRC and on the border with Burundi, "the situation on the ground has not changed much", according to him, and there remain "efforts to be made to operationalize the peace agreement" signed between Félix Tshisekedi and Paul Kagame in Washington.

Burundian President Évariste Ndayishimiye, also current president of the African Union and AU special envoy for the Sahel, traveled to Burkina Faso this week to meet junta leader Ibrahim Traoré. Asked about this meeting with the putschist, whose country, as well as Mali and Niger, is still suspended from the African Union, Édouard Bizimana declared that it was "not a legitimization, but with the aim of supporting them in the process so that these countries can return to normality".

He added that the Burundian president was also willing to visit Mali and Niger for the same purpose, or even to reintegrate these countries into the African Union. “Burundi wants all African countries to be reintegrated and part of the organization because together we are strong and if we follow the logic of fragmentation, the continent will not be able to move forward.”

While President Ndayishimiye congratulated Captain Ibrahim Traoré for his commitment to peace and stability in his country, the latter recently declared "Democracy is not for us." “Democracy is a process and in each country, each people must make it their own,” simply comments Édouard Bizimana.

“We are ready to stem any attempted invasion towards Burundi”

Regarding the situation in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, on the border with Burundi, and the peace agreement signed between Félix Tshisekedi and Paul Kagame in Washington, Édouard Bizimana explained that "the situation on the ground has not changed much because the violence continues. There are still efforts to be made to operationalize the agreement, to apply it concretely", particularly in relation to the refugees entering Burundi and the security in borders.

While in December, the M23 rebel group took the town of Uvira which is close to Bujumbura, the largest city in Burundi, Édouard Bizimana ruled out any threat against the country: "We are well organized, we are monitoring the situation closely and we are ready to stem any attempted invasion into Burundi." “Regional integration had been seen as a solution to all the problems we have. We are still on this path of encouraging dialogue and strengthening regional cooperation,” he added.

“We will concentrate on the essential: moving the African Union forward with concrete projects and stabilizing the region. All Burundi's efforts are part of this logic,” also recalled Édouard Bizimana, in response to a statement by Paul Kagame who had affirmed that if the mandate of Évariste Ndayishimiye at the head of the African Union was positive, it would be a good thing. But otherwise “we will take care of it when the time comes”.

Finally, when asked about Burundi's support for the candidacy of former Senegalese President Macky Sall for the post of Secretary General of the UN, despite opposition from Senegal and several other African countries, he commented that "Macky Sall is in competition, he is a son of the continent. If he is elected, he is a candidate for Africa. And if he is not elected, it is the best who will have won."

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