Kigali (Rwanda), Oct 11 (IANS): The Russian government is looking forward to strengthening bilateral relations with Rwanda, the country's deputy minister for foreign affairs said Thursday.

Mikhail Leonidovich Bogdanov told reporters after meeting Rwandan President Paul Kagame at his office in Village Urugwiro, Xinhua reported.

Bogdanov, who is in-charge of relations with African countries, was in Rwanda to explore areas of cooperation and enhance the existing bilateral cooperation between the two countries.

"We discussed with the president on how we can improve our existing friendly relations and we agreed to strengthen the political dialogue between our countries on international and regional issues," he said.

The minister said that Rwanda and Russia would next week celebrate 50 years of bilateral relations and it was paramount to take the affairs to greater heights.

"We cooperate with Rwanda at United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and we really appreciate the policies of Rwanda as a non-permanent member of the council," the Russian minister said.

About 800 Rwandan students have graduated from Russian institutes and universities over the last 50 years in various disciplines including law, medicine, international affairs and political science.