The United Arabs Emirates has continued to intensify its engagements with East Africa, starting the year with a “historic” trade deal with Kenya.
President William Ruto and his UAE counterpart Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on January 14 presided over the signing of the Kenya-United Arab Emirates Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in Abu Dhabi.
While the official statement issued by Kenya’s Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs said the deal marks a historic milestone in the economic relations between the two nations, the bigger context points to UAE expanded outreach in EAC and on the continent.
“The CEPA is the first agreement of its kind signed by the UAE with a mainland African country, representing a transformative step in enhancing trade, investment, and economic cooperation,” the statement said.
The dispatch added that the trade deal strengthens “Kenya’s position as a gateway to East and Southern Africa and reaffirms the UAE’s role as a global logistics and financial hub connecting the Middle East, Asia, and beyond”.
Additionally, President Ruto on Tuesday announced that his government is exploring a partnership agreement with the UAE to extend the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) to connect Kenya, Uganda and South Sudan.
“As part of the plan, we have agreed to conduct a feasibility study over the extension of the SGR due to its capacity to foster regional integration and promote trade,” he posted on X after meeting UAE Investment minister Mohamed Hassan Alsuwaidi.
“We also agreed on UAE’s investment in the Galana-Kulalu project and other agricultural initiatives aimed at strengthening our food security agenda”.
UAE is also involved in carbon credits in Kenya, and Middle East Eye in November 2023 reported that Dubai-based firm Blue Carbon had signed a framework of collaboration (FOC) with Kenya’s Ministry of Environment and Climate Change that would concede “millions of hectares” of its territory for the production of carbon credits.
“The credits would be generated supposedly from restoring and protecting the land, and the company would then sell these on to major polluters to offset their emissions. This follows a slew of similar contracts with Liberia, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe, which conceded 7.5 million hectares, a fifth of its landmass, to the company,” the outlet reported.
UGANDA
UAE has also intensified economic engagements with neighbouring Uganda, which it considers as its gateway to the Great Lakes region, and last year the two sides signed a deal to build an international airport, the third for an African country.
In June 2024, President Yoweri Museveni’s office announced a deal with UAE’s Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which will build the airport just outside the Kidepo National Park in the northeast near Uganda’s border with Kenya.
I witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Uganda and the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce led by their Chairman, H.E Abdallah Sultan Al Owais for the construction of Kidepo International Airport in Karamoja. This MoU is a sign of the deepening relations with our Gulf partners and another opportunity to cooperate in investment and trade,” Museveni said on X.
In October 2024, a Ugandan business delegation led by the country’s Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja was hosted by the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the UAE for a business forum.
The Prime Minister described the event as “one that underscores and continues to solidify the Uganda-UAE bilateral partnership”.
In November, Foreign Affairs Minister of State Sheikh Shakhboot Bin Nahyan Al Nahyan met with President Museveni in Kampala.
During the meeting, Sheikh Shakhboot “conveyed the greetings of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE President, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, and His Highness Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Presidential Court, to H.E. Museveni and their wishes of further progress and prosperity for the government and people of Uganda”.
The two sides also discussed ways to advance their bilateral ties, and their development across various fields.
“Furthermore, both sides affirmed their mutual commitment toward continuously supporting cooperation and reinforcing the existing partnership between the two countries to achieve their shared interests,” UAE Foreign ministry said after the meeting
In December 2024, at least 20 Dubai based companies sough investment opportunities in Uganda, further demonstrating the growing economic ties between Abu Dhabi and Kampala.
National carrier Uganda Airlines in April 2024 got an approval to operate direct flights from Entebbe to Abu Dhabi.
RWANDA
In Rwanda, UAE has been explored economic and political cooperation, and in April 2022, the two states signed an agreement on economic and technical cooperation.
Rwanda’s Foreign Ministry said the Agreement would facilitate various forms of economic and technical cooperation between the two states and contribute to the development and enhancement of mutual economic relations.
In March 2024, the two states held their first Session of the Joint Committee for Cooperation (JCC), where then Foreign Affairs Minister Vincent Biruta said their bilateral cooperation spans several vital sectors, “with notable advancements in trade and investment, security, ICT, and space among others”.
In December 2024, Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) signed a loan agreement worth $25 million with Rwanda to finance the expansion of water transmission and distribution systems at the Karenge Water Treatment Plant.
TANZANIA
It is the same case with Tanzania, where the two sides signed the controversial 30-year port management deal in October 2023.
Under the agreement, the Dubai Port (DP) World will run four berths at the Dar es Salaam port, Tanzania’s largest port, and the Emirati firm and the Tanzania Ports Authority will collaborate in managing three other berths at the port.
The deal, which was opposed by the opposition and civil society groups in Tanzania, included an investment of $250m by DP World to upgrade infrastructure at the port over the period of five years. The groups argued that the deal was against the constitution and that it favoured the Emirati company at Tanzania’s expense.
Following President Samia Suluhu’s visit to Dubai in February 2022, 36 MoUs were signed between Tanzania and UAE authorities for investments totalling $7.5 billion.
Other agreements in energy and carbon credits have been signed between the two sides.
A report by World Economic headlined “A new economic partnership is emerging between Africa and the Gulf states” in April 2024 indicated that UAE had invested $59.4 billion in Africa in 10 years, joining other global powers in expanding their footprint on the continent.
