Nairobi, Kenya, Dec 2 – The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is looking to explore new avenues to strengthen ties with Kenya including expanding bilateral trade between the Arabian Nation and President William Ruto’s administration.
Dr. Khalifa Al Rayssi, Charge d’affaires of the UAE Embassy in Kenya, said Thursday during the celebration of the 51st National Day of the Union, that the UAE is looking to diversify its economy away from petroleum products in order to tap more into the Kenyan market, which he described as an important commercial hub for Africa and getaway to other economies and markets in the region.
To achieve this, Al Rayssi said the goodwill from the current regime will be critical even as UAE seeks to boost its investments in agriculture and technology.
“UAE had strong relations with the previous government and we still have the same strong relations even with the new government and we are aiming to even strengthen these relations,” he said.
His remarks come four months after the two nations-initiated talks on United Arab Emirates-Kenya Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (UAEK-CEPA) to increase the volume of trade in goods and services and investment when former President Uhuru Kenyatta was still in power.
Al Rayssi emphasized that Kenya is a key partner as the UAE embarks on a path to establishing an economy that is built on knowledge and diversity enhanced by scientific and technical advancement.
“We hope that we will achieve our target and Kenya’s target when it comes to increasing bilateral trade between the two countries and the new government has always been a good supporter of this initiative,” he said.
“We have lots of visits going on, commercial visits, business conferences, and businessmen coming from UAE to have this cooperation and establish their businesses in Kenya,” he added.
In 2021, total imports from UAE almost doubled to Sh178.5 billion from Sh92.3 billion in 2020 while exports to Dubai rose to Sh34.6 billion.
He said that UAE is now looking to increase imports and exports from Kenya in the future.
In regards to renewable energy, the UAE diplomat said that negotiations are going on between investors from UAE to Kenya when it comes to renewable energy.
“In this field (renewable energy) we have a plan or vision to increase this cooperation in the future,’ he said.
He also noted that the UAE intends to assist Kenya in utilizing the Arabian state’s geographical and economic position to facilitate access to other markets such as Asia and Europe.
While commenting on the number of flights between the two countries, Al-Rayssi said that UAE is currently negotiating with authorities in Kenya noting that there are intentions to increase the flights from UAE to Kenya in the near future.
