Kenya has entered into a trade agreement with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in a deal that will see the Gulf nation accelerate its investments in ports, agriculture and energy in the East African region.

According to a statement released on Tuesday on the sidelines of the ongoing Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, the Kenya-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) is tailored to deepen the two country's trade and investment targeting ICT, banking, tourism, infrastructure, and renewable energy industries.

Other areas of focus under the deal will be the strengthening of UAE-Kenya supply chains, and the enhancement of mutually beneficial market access across the Middle East and Africa.

According to UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, CEPA will revamp trade and investment between the two countries while also driving innovation and sustainable growth in agriculture, retail, healthcare, financial services, technology and tourism industries.

Furthermore, the UAE aims to leverage this first-of-its-kind agreement in Africa to strengthen its ties with Kenya and expand its investment footprint and partnerships across the continent. 

During the forum, the UAE also entered into similar agreements with Malaysia and New Zealand. Additionally, the oil-rich nation announced that it is preparing comparable agreements with European countries to enhance trade, investment, and economic cooperation.

President William Ruto described the CEPA as a critical step in powering UAE-Kenya economic relations, stating, "The signing of the historic Kenya-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) will deepen trade ties between the two nations by simplifying trade procedures, promoting industrialisation and stimulating investment.

"It is expected to more than triple Kenya’s exports of meat products, fruits, vegetables, cut flowers, tea and coffee once implemented."

The UAE-Kenya CEPA was signed by Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade, and Musalia Mudavadi, Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs of Kenya.

The deal pivots on growing cooperation between the UAE and East Africa's largest economy, which saw bilateral non-oil trade grow by 29.1 percent to $3.1 billion in the first nine months of 2024 compared to a similar period in 2023.

As part of diversification from oil, foreign trade is a key element of UAE’s economic goal to double the size of its economy to over $800 billion by 2030.

The UAE-Kenya CEPA marks the second major trade deal for Nairobi in recent years, following the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union (EU), signed in December 2023 and implemented in July 2024.

Kenya also secured a trade pact with the United Kingdom in 2018, granting duty-free and quota-free access to the UK market.

Meanwhile, negotiations for a Strategic Trade and Investment Partnership (STIP) with the United States have been ongoing since July 2020. However, the process has faced delays, largely due to changes in leadership in both countries, leaving the agreement pending for over four years.

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