Is a resumption of military cooperation between France and Rwanda on the agenda? According to a spokesman for the French Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, these are "standard exchanges".

Discussions that will notably address stability in Central Africa and Mozambique, where the rise of the Islamic State group is a cause for concern. In eastern DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo), ISCAP, the Islamic State in Central Africa, has also drawn closer in recent years to ADF (Allied Democratic Forces) rebels. As for Mozambique, an Islamist rebellion attacked the city of Palma in the north of the country last year, where the French company Total operates.

Kigali, Africa's peacekeeper

This meeting between the two countries' chiefs of staff comes as Kigali is gradually establishing itself as Africa's peacekeeper. Several thousand Rwandan soldiers are notably deployed in Sudan, the Central African Republic, and more recently in Mozambique.

Kigali represents a genuine balance pole in an unstable region, comments a former senior French military officer.

►Also read: Rwanda, Mozambique's new peacekeeper