UAE and Kenya conclude Cepa negotiations

The UAE and Kenya have concluded negotiations for a comprehensive economic partnership agreement (Cepa) in a “landmark” deal that will provide further access to the highgrowth African continent and expansion into sectors from food to technology.

The countries will seek to tap into opportunities in sectors including food production, mining, technology and logistics, Dr Thani Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, said in a post on X. “It is a landmark deal with one of the continent’s most dynamic economies, offering new avenues for growth on both sides,” he said.

In 2023, the UAE and Kenya’s non-oil trade rose 26.4 per cent year on year to $3.1 billion, Dr Al Zeyoudi said.

This latest pact is the UAE’s third Cepa with an African country. In December, it concluded the terms of a deal with Mauritius and with the Republic of Congo. The UAE has already concluded similar agreements with India, Israel, Indonesia, Turkey and five other countries.

In 2023, the UAE’s non-oil foreign trade hit a record Dh3.5 trillion ($953 billion), bolstered by its economic diversification plans, as the Arab world’s second-largest economy signed a series of Cepas with major economies around the world.

Kenya’s real gross domestic product growth rose to an estimated 5 per cent in 2023, from 4.8 per cent in 2022. The African economy is expected to expand between 4.5 per cent and 5.2 per cent this year.

The latest UAE-Kenya agreement will hasten investment flows in high potential areas such as logistics, health care, travel, tourism, infrastructure and information communications technology.

It will help small and medium enterprises to expand, the UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Trade said. The services sector, which accounts for 53.6 per cent of Kenya’s gross domestic product, and its agriculture sector, which comprises about a quarter of national GDP, offer “vast potential” for UAE businesses seeking to expand into Africa, the ministry said.

Rebecca Miano, Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Investments, Trade and Industry, said the African nation was on “a national development path” seeking to increase industrial output in terms of quantity, quality and competitiveness.

The pact 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”.

The countries will seek to tap into opportunities in sectors including food production, mining, technology and logistics