In the 1970s, the German Armed Forces trained Rwandan troops, and in 1977 President Juvenal Habyarimana visited Bonn.

The 1994 genocide in Rwanda led to an intense focus on the country by the German public and society, and numerous reports on the events were published in the German-language media.

The German government provided humanitarian aid, but like the rest of the international community, took no concrete steps to end the massacres in the country.

[6] In 2022, the pharma company BioNtech began construction of a production center for the manufacture of MRNA vaccines for the whole of Africa in Rwanda.

[7] The joint development partnership focuses on peace and social cohesion, education and sustainable growth, and climate and energy.

Churches, universities and colleges, associations, companies and social groups such as sports clubs and educational institutions also participate in the partnership.