Rwanda’s Infrastructure Minister Joins MSGBC 2026 as Kigali-Dakar Ties Deepen
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Damien Murwanashyaka, Rwanda’s Minister of Infrastructure, will participate in MSGBC Oil, Gas & Power 2026 in Dakar, extending the conference’s ministerial lineup to an East African government in the midst of a major generation buildout. His attendance comes as Rwanda and Senegal formalize a broader economic partnership, and as Kigali advances a methane and power program with clear parallels to the gas-to-power agendas taking shape across Mauritania, Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau and Guinea-Conakry.
Kigali and Dakar have steadily deepened ties since President Bassirou Diomaye Faye’s state visit to Rwanda in October 2026. During the visit, the two governments held the inaugural session of their Joint Permanent Commission on Cooperation in Kigali, signing 11 agreements alongside a Memorandum of Understanding between the Rwanda Development Board and Senegalese investment promotion agency APIX to identify new cross-border investment projects. President Paul Kagame and President Faye met again in Dakar on November 1 to discuss bilateral cooperation, with the joint commission’s second session set to take place in Senegal early next year.
Minister Murwanashyaka oversees energy, transport, water and housing. His ministry is directing a significant expansion of Rwanda’s power sector, planning to add 523 MW of generation capacity over the next three years as part of the country’s National Strategy for Transformation. Hydropower, including battery-supported projects, accounts for 300 MW of the pipeline and methane gas for 165 MW, along with roughly 60 MW of solar capacity. Rwanda is also building 381 km of new transmission lines and 13 new substations. The government has confirmed that private investors will take part in several of the generation projects.
Rwanda’s gas sector gives MSGBC delegates a working model of privately financed gas-to-power. Methane extracted from the waters of Lake Kivu supplied about 21% of national electricity in 2025 through 82 MW of installed capacity, developed by independent producers KivuWatt and Shema Power under long-term agreements with the government. A separate 25-year concession held by Gasmeth Energy is developing Lake Kivu methane as compressed natural gas for household cooking and industrial use.
Minister Murwanashyaka’s participation broadens the ministerial dialogue at MSGBC Oil, Gas & Power 2026 to include a Great Lakes country combining new generation with a decade of experience in privately developed gas-to-power. The conference will set Rwanda’s experience alongside the project development and regional cooperation priorities of the MSGBC member states.
Organized by Energy Capital & Power, MSGBC Oil, Gas & Power 2026 takes place December 1-3 at the Centre International de Conférences Abdou Diouf (CICAD) in Dakar under the High Patronage of President Bassirou Diomaye Faye. To participate as a delegate, visit www.msgbcoilgasandpower.com.