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tourism. We look forward to deepening our relationship with Kenya and to further
expanding our presence in Africa as a trusted partner and investor.”

Rebecca Miano, Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Investments, Trade and Industry, said,
“The Kenyan leadership has identified trade as a key lever of economic growth and
transformation. We are on a national development path that is seeking to increase
industrial output, enhance the quality and global competitiveness of that output, and to
expand the opportunities for its export.

The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with the UAE will play a key role
in these efforts, enabling our exports to reach important markets in Asia and the Middle
East, and also in stimulating the investment inflows that will further develop our national
capabilities. We look forward to its implementation and the mutual benefits it will
deliver.”

Kenya’s economy, one of the most promising in Africa, experienced real GDP growth
accelerating from 4.8% in 2022 to an estimated 5% in 2023, while it is projected that
real GDP will grow between 4.5% and 5.2% in 2024. Among others, its services sector,
which accounts for 53.6 percent of Kenya’s GDP, and agriculture sector, comprising
around a quarter of national GDP, offer vast potential for UAE businesses looking to
expand into the region.

Foreign trade remains the cornerstone of the UAE’s economic agenda. In 2023, the
UAE’s non-oil trade in goods reached an all-time high of $710 billion, a 12.6% increase
on 2022 - and 34.7% more than 2021.

Meanwhile, Uganda’s rich agriculture and the UAE’s technological prowess offer
potential synergy to expand bilateral relations, Gen. Odongo Jeje Abubakhar, Ugandan
Foreign Minister, told the Emirates News Agency (WAM). As Uganda is primarily an
agricultural country, it can meet the UAE’s food needs and acquire UAE’s technology to
help add value to Uganda’s agricultural produce, he said during a recent interview in
Dubai. “It is only then that we can help the Ugandan population become wealthier and
more stable.”

The top diplomat said that Uganda is very excited about the excellent relations with the
UAE. Gen. Abubacker explained that the bilateral relations have considerably
strengthened in recent years with regular high-level visits and increased flight
connectivity between both countries.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni visited the UAE over five times in the last three
years, and there are 27 flights a week between the UAE and Uganda, he pointed out.

“This shows you the importance and the growth of our relations. And I believe this can
only grow further.”

https://www.gulftoday.ae/business/2024/02/23/uae-kenya-finalise-comprehensive-economic-
partnership-agreement