President Uhuru Heads to the UAE for a Three-day Working Visit

President Kenyatta has kicked off a three-day working visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), with strengthening trade ties between Kenya and the Gulf state being his main agenda.

Kenya’s Ambassador to the UAE Kariuki Mugwe says the president is expected to grace a high-level Kenya-UAE business forum, presided over the Kenya national day at the Expo 2020 Dubai, and hold bilateral talks with the UAE leadership.

“The purpose of the President coming here is to showcase business and investment opportunities that are available in Kenya. And there are quite a number of them mostly in the investment areas,” Mugwe said at a media briefing ahead of the president’s arrival.

“Those opportunities need to be made known not only to the UAE investors but also other investors in the world, we have actually invited a number of them among the 192 countries participating in the Expo 2020 Dubai.”

The ambassador expressed confidence that Kenyatta’s visit to the Gulf state will help bridge the huge trade imbalance which is currently tilted in favor of the UAE.

“It is expected that the Kenyan business representatives will engage and strike business deals with their UAE counterparts and other participating countries,” the ambassador said.

The visit, Mugwe said, will also provide an opportunity for Kenya and the UAE to enhance their bilateral relations which are founded on shared historical ties.

“Our two countries cooperate in many areas of mutual interests both at the bilateral and multilateral levels. It is expected that there will be investment opportunities that will be secured by the engagements that will be undertaken while His Excellency the President is in the UAE,” he added.