Starmer, who led Britain’s Labour Party to a landslide election victory, and three weeks ago became the UK’s 58th Prime Minister congratulated Kagame on his recent re-election and said he was looking forward to working closely with him across a range of shared priorities.

He praised the Rwandan President’s leadership on climate change, with the two leaders agreeing that further action is necessary to make sure we are all meeting our climate obligations. They agreed to keep in close contact on this.

They discussed their shared commitment to continue working together on solutions to tackle illegal migration. The two said it is a pressing global challenge, and breaking the business model of criminal gangs who profit from people’s suffering must be the priority.

They reflected on the strength of the relationship between the two countries and said this spirit of close co-operation should continue.

On his first full day as Prime Minister, Starmer confirmed the Rwanda deportation scheme was "dead and buried".

The Labour leader was quoted as saying he would end the "gimmick" of deporting migrants arriving in the United Kingdom illegally to Rwanda, which was established by the previous Conservative government.

--ChannelAfrica\Linda Kea Moreotsene--