Kigali: The Rwandan government announced today that it has begun preliminary talks to receive migrants deported from several European countries, with its territory serving as a transit point.

According to Qatar News Agency, spokesperson for the Rwandan government, Yolande Makolo, stated that her country has initiated preliminary discussions with some European nations, but no decision has yet been made. Makolo did not specify which countries were involved.

She explained that among the issues being discussed is the use of the "Emergency Transit Center" in eastern Rwanda. Since 2019, this center has received thousands of migrants who were stranded in Libya, many of whom have since departed under a program that she said has helped save "many lives." She noted that a similar center could accommodate families for medical care and training, and that asylum applications would also be processed there. She added that the individuals concerned could either return to their countries of origin if it is safe and if they wish, or be resettled in other countries.

In 2022, Rwanda signed a migration agreement with the United Kingdom to return migrants who had entered the UK irregularly to Rwanda. However, former British Prime Minister Keir Starmer declared the agreement "dead and buried" shortly after taking office in 2024, following widespread criticism and a ruling by the UK Supreme Court that it was unlawful.

Last June, the European Parliament passed a new immigration law, described as the strictest in its history, aimed at expediting the return of migrants who do not have the right to remain in the European Union. This law was supported by center-right and far-right political groups.