Rwanda is not 'trading people' for asylum in the UK, according to Kagame.

In his first comments on Rwanda's migrant pact with the United Kingdom, Rwandan President Paul Kagame insists his country is not "selling human beings."

Asylum seekers landing in the UK on small boats will be transferred to Rwanda for processing and resettlement under the agreement.

The £120 million ($15 million) UK-Rwanda trade has made international headlines, and officials in both nations are still trying to explain its significance.

Mr. Kagame, who was in Congo-Brazzaville, Jamaica, and Barbados at the time of the agreement's signing, said it would be a mistake to imagine Rwanda was merely getting money for migrants.

"Please understand, we are not trading human beings; we are truly assisting," he remarked during a virtual lecture with Brown University in the United States.

Mr. Kagame stated that the UK approached Rwanda because of "what we accomplished in Libya."

He added that while he was president of the African Union in 2018, he determined that Rwanda would provide sanctuary to migrants detained in Libya attempting to escape into Europe.

Nearly 1,000 migrants have been transported to Rwanda for processing, with two-thirds of them being sent to Europe or Canada.

Mr. Kagame commended the procedure as a victory for the UK and other European countries "with migrant issues."

He said Rwanda is assisting in the fight against migrant smuggling, noting that the United Kingdom wants "an orderly means of sorting out who they'll welcome and who they can say no to."

Two Rwandan opposition groups have branded the agreement "unrealistic" and urged the government to focus on local issues rather than "solving obligations of affluent countries."