Kenya-UAE Trade On The Upswing

Trade delegation from UAE signs new memoranda to increase bi-lateral trade ties

Total trade between both countries stood at KES. 173 billion (EUR. 1.634 billion). This made the UAE Kenya's 4th largest trading partner and the largest trading partner and export destination in the Middle East.

The main products that United Arab Emirates exported to Kenya are Refined Petroleum ($1.31B), Gold ($48.7M), and Propylene Polymers ($42.8M). During the last two decades the exports of United Arab Emirates to Kenya have increased at an annualized rate of 8.72%, from $290 million in 1997 to $1.9 billion in 2020.

In 2020, Kenya exported $381 million worth of goods to United Arab Emirates which included Refined Petroleum ($171 million), Tea ($55.7 million), and Sheep and Goat Meat ($40.2 million). During the last 22 years the exports of Kenya to United Arab Emirates have increased at an annualized rate of 15.7%, from $15.4 million in 1997 to $381 million in 2019.

Kenya Imports from United Arab Emirates was US$866.79 million during 2020, according to the United Nations COMTRADE database on international trade. The main products being exported from UAE to Kenya are:

• Mineral fuels, oils, distillation products - $583.58 million
• Plastics - $84.57 million
• Electrical, electronic equipment - $41.10 million
• Salt, sulphur, earth, stone, plaster, lime and cement - $27.10 million
• Copper - $22.69 million
• Machinery, nuclear reactors, boilers - $11.55 million
• Miscellaneous chemical products - $9.11 million
• Arms and ammunition, parts and accessories - $8.41 million
• Iron and Steel - $8.10 million
• Vehicles other than railway, tramway - $7.39 million

The UAE is Kenya's 5th largest export destination and the 4th largest import source.

Approximately 50,000 Kenyans also work and live in the UAE, especially in the hospitality, aviation, medical, construction, engineering and security sectors. On the other hand, Dubai-based real estate firms have been hunting for buyers in Kenya for their luxurious property consisting of mainly residential units.

Diplomatic missions

Diplomatic relations between the two nations commenced in 1982 when Kenya opened its Embassy in the UAE which the latter reciprocated by UAE by establishing its embassy in Nairobi in 2012. Since then, high profile visits between the countries, were the norm, where H.E former President Mwai Kibaki visited the UAE in 2011 and H.E Uhuru Kenyatta's state visit to the UAE was in 2014. In the year 2015, H.H Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation officially visited Kenya and this visit was a catalyst to advancing relations between the two countries.

UAE-Kenya Trade Deal

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) plans to sign a comprehensive economic partnership agreement with Kenya to consolidate its position as a gateway for global trade and investment.

The deal with Kenya, alongside six other countries including India, Indonesia, Turkey, UK, Israel, South Korea and Ethiopia will widen its access in the emerging markets.

"These comprehensive agreements will help us get wider accessibility to those markets. We are talking about 10 per cent of the global trade and 60 percent of the global populations of those eight countries," said Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade in a statement.

"These countries were chosen on the basis of a few criteria, including knowledge-based economy, domestic consumption, international businesses in those countries, and their historical relations with the UAE."

Dubai has successfully ploughed oil wealth into Kenya's key sectors like tourism and real estate and 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. But the relationship between the two countries has been marked by huge trade imbalance in favour of the UAE.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the vice-president and prime minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has singled out Kenya — East Africa’s largest economy — as “one of the most promising business partners for Dubai” in the coming years.

"We are looking for a win-win partnership with Kenya,” said Hamad Buamim, president and CEO of the Dubai Chamber, in 2019. “We believe Dubai holds the key to unlocking Kenya’s economic potential."

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