Rwanda is in the early stages of talks to receive immigrants deported from the United States, Rwandan Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe said on television late on Sunday, CNN reported.

Rwanda has in recent years positioned itself as a destination country for migrants that Western countries would like to remove, despite concerns by rights groups that Kigali does not respect some of the most fundamental human rights.

Kigali signed an agreement with Britain in 2022 to take in thousands of asylum seekers from the United Kingdom before the deal was scrapped last year by then newly-elected Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

“We are in discussions with the United States,” Nduhungirehe said in an interview with the state broadcaster Rwanda TV, according to CNN.

“It has not yet reached a stage where we can say exactly how things will proceed, but the talks are ongoing… still in the early stages.”