What's new? Rwanda has become highly influential in the Central African Republic (CAR). The main provider of blue helmets for the UN mission in the country, Kigali has also dispatched soldiers under a bilateral agreement. It is helping strengthen CAR's institutions, while securing mining concessions and land for agricultural projects.

Why does it matter? The CAR-Rwanda partnership has brought positive results but also risks. Central Africans support the presence of Rwandan troops but see Kigali's business ventures as unfair competition. Rwanda could also wind up at odds with the Russian Wagner Group, CAR's other major security partner.

What should be done? Both CAR and Rwanda would benefit from making the agreements underlying their partnership more transparent. Kigali should redouble efforts to revive the moribund peace process between CAR's government and insurgencies. Bangui should seek to defuse tensions between Kigali and Wagner.