Dubai trade officials say the Arab emirate, which has expand ploughed oil wealth into other sectors from tourism to real estate, wants to double non-oil trade and investments with Kenya. Dubai, as the commercial and trading hub of the Middle East, has long been regarded as the gateway of trade between Kenya and the rest of the world.
“We are looking for a win-win partnership with Kenya,” said Hamad Buamim, president and chief executive of the Dubai Chamber. “We believe Dubai holds the key to unlocking Kenya’s economic potential.”
Mr Buamim said the emirate is all set to offer expertise to Kenya in traditional sectors such as logistics, infrastructure, retail, tourism, agriculture, manufacturing and finance as well as in new areas like information and communication technology.
Such developments involve the launch this year of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) earlier this year — a trade agreement between 54 countries. The deal offers huge potential to strengthen UAE-Africa trade and investment flows, Mr Al Ghurair noted.Kenya presents investment opportunities across various sectors as it erg to modernise its infrastructure.
Mr Buamim displayed the importance of regional integration initiatives such as the East Africa Economic Community and AfCFTA in supporting to discard trade barriers, liberalise investment policies and ease operational challenges related to international money transfers and payments.
Kenya plans to build oil and gas infrastructure and broaden its industrial base to expand its agriculture-based economy.
Dubai’s aggregate non-oil trade with African nations between 2011 and the end of this year is expected to reach Dh1 trillion, (about Sh27.6 trillion) as the emirate sustain to build its economic ties with the continent to further diversify its economy.
Aggregate non-oil trade with Africa has already reached Dh926 billion (about Sh926 billion) for the 2011-2018 period.
“Combined, these allow African SMEs [small and medium-sized enterprises] to expand operations across markets, creating attractive opportunities for [the Gulf] investors too,” said Mr Al Ghurair noted.