The UAE-Kenya Trade and Investment Forum kicked off yesterday Monday in Nairobi with the participation of 25 industrial, production and export facilities from Sharjah.

The forum is held in parallel with the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s fifth trade mission (SCCI), represented by the Sharjah Exports Development Authority, SEDC, to East Africa.

The step aims at introducing the private sector to the rewarding opportunities in the emerging sectors to serve the interest of the business community in Sharjah.

It also provides a platform for reviewing joint investment opportunities between businessmen, in pursuit of achieving distinct economic partnerships between Sharjah, Uganda, and Kenya, in addition to promoting the development of exports of production facilities in Sharjah.

Held at the Kempinski Hotel Nairobi, the forum was attended by HE Abdullah Sultan Al Owais, SCCI’s Chairman, HE Johnson Wiru, Representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kenya, HE Richard Ngatia, President of the Kenya Chamber of Commerce and Industry, HE Mohammed Rashid Dimas, SCCI’s Board Member, and HE Nasser Mussabah Al Tunaiji, SCCI’s Board Member.

Attending also were Abdul Aziz Shattaf, SCCI’s Assistant General Director, Members Services Sector and Director of Sharjah Exports Development Center (SEDC), Sultan Shattaf, Director of Business Development & Marketing, Expo Centre Sharjah, Lamia Abdulrahman Al Jasmi, Senior Executive of National Industries Development and Sultan Abdullah Al Ali, National Industries Development Executive, Sharjah Export Development Center, and a number of officials from public and private sector institutions in Kenya, and a crowd of Emirati and Kenyan businessmen and investors.

Kenya is in the Spotlight of the UAE Business

In his opening keynote, HE Richard Ngatia said that the relationship between Kenya and UAE is a distinctive one, and that Kenya’s strategic location paves the way for penetrating the regional markets in East Africa, and reach a number of consumers up to 150 million people, thanks to Kenya's infrastructure and its sophisticated business environment, where the country now ranks 56th in the world among 190 countries and fourth in Africa after Mauritius, Morocco and Rwanda.

Kenya is also a leading market for consumer goods, as well as skilled and multi-skilled human resources, he added.

While expressing his hope to make the best use of this forum to make Kenya the UAE’s center of attention in East Africa, Ngatia called on businessmen in Sharjah to explore Kenya’s investment opportunities in the fields of energy, infrastructure, oil and gas, livestock, fishing, export of industrial labor, health care, pharmaceuticals, education, vocational and technical training, information and communication technology and innovation, transport and logistics, agribusiness, and agriculture, underlining that the Kenyan Chamber is providing all facilities and possibilities available to support cooperation between the private sector on both sides.

Thanking the SCCI for organizing the trade mission for the fifth year and the Chamber’s role in creating serious partnerships and economic cooperation, the President of Kenyan Chamber reiterated the importance of the joint work to overcoming challenges facing the private sector in both sides and expanding cooperation areas between both sides.

Distinctive Bilateral Relations

In his remarks, HE Abdullah Sultan Al Owais expressed his happiness for the renewal of the meeting, stressing the depth of the official bilateral and historical relations, the strong cultural and humanitarian ties, and the growing economic interests between the business communities in both friendly countries.

Al Owais stated that the organization of the Fifth Trade Mission is the fruit of the distinguished bilateral relations between the two friendly countries in all fields, which were and will remain deeply rooted with the blessing and patronage of the leadership of the two countries.

He added: “The UAE and Kenya have great potential, high competitive traits and enormous opportunities for cooperation between businessmen and investors in both countries, which would serve the interest of the business community effectively if properly invested. This forum is a perfect opportunity for fostering relations and strengthening joint efforts. This would help elevate the volume of non-oil trade exchange between the UAE and Kenya, which has witnessed a quantum leap in the last years, reaching US $ 2 billion in 2017-2018, a growth rate Approximately 37% compared to previous years.”