Tag: KENYA

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Kenya vaccinates 3.7 mn children against polio

Polio is a disabling disease caused by the poliovirus, which can lead to paralysis and, in some cases, may be life-threatening..reports Asian Lite News

At least 3.71 million children under the age of 10 have been vaccinated against polio in Kenya as part of the government’s latest effort to stop the disease.

Deborah Barasa, cabinet secretary in the Ministry of Health, said in a statement issued on Friday night that the vaccination took place in nine counties identified as vulnerable, including the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.

“The ministry successfully conducted a polio vaccination campaign from October 2 to 6 following confirmation of the poliovirus in the Turkana, Nairobi, and Mbale regions bordering Kenya,” Barasa said.

Polio is a disabling disease caused by the poliovirus, which can lead to paralysis and, in some cases, may be life-threatening, Xinhua news agency reported.

According to Barasa, Kenya is planning a second round of vaccinations from November 9 to 13.

The campaigns are carried out in collaboration with various partners, including the World Health Organization (WHO). According to the WHO, Kenya, like other countries in the Horn of Africa, remains at risk of imported wild poliovirus from neighbouring war-torn countries with health system challenges that prevent the vaccination of all children.

ALSO READ: Kenya taps into diaspora community to grow visitor arrivals

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Kenya taps into diaspora community to grow visitor arrivals

The initiative is expected to boost tourism arrivals currently at 1.9 million to its target of 5 million by 2027, reinforcing Kenya’s position as a preferred travel destination..reports Asian Lite News

The Kenya Tourism Board (KTB), a state-owned marketing agency, on Sunday launched a campaign leveraging the country’s missions abroad to increase tourist arrivals.

June Chepkemei, KTB chief executive officer, said Kenyan missions abroad would play a crucial role in augmenting the campaign, dubbed ‘Ziara Kenya: One Diaspora, One Tourist,” which seeks to harness the over 3 million Kenyans in the diaspora to help market their motherland through their networks within the host countries, Xinhua news agency reported.

“Kenya has 66 missions abroad which represent our country. This existing infrastructure provides an ideal platform to position Kenya as the most attractive destination for international travellers,” she said in a statement issued in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya.

The KTB official spoke during a meeting that gathered key heads of departments from KTB and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs seeking to bolster Kenya’s tourism presence abroad.

The initiative is expected to boost tourism arrivals currently at 1.9 million to its target of 5 million by 2027, reinforcing Kenya’s position as a preferred travel destination, KTB said.

Chepkemei said the campaign will empower Kenyans living abroad to promote tourism within their social networks with incentives, which she said KTB will work together with the travel trade to make it a reality.

“We will be working closely with the travel partners whom we are encouraging to put in place personalized travel packages, and incentives for referrals as a way of motivating the Kenyan diaspora to join the campaigns,” Chepkemei added.

Eliphas Barine, director general of Political and Diplomatic Affairs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, reaffirmed the support of the Ministry to KTB in its programs that are aimed at boosting Kenya’s tourism potential by aligning with regional and global tourism agendas.

While saying Africa’s growing market presents immense opportunities, Barine suggested Kenyans in the diaspora can play a critical role in drawing visitors to Kenya by promoting the country’s rich culture, wildlife, and natural beauty.

“We need to synergise as industry stakeholders to ensure that our mandate is realised, and Kenyans are served. The African market is becoming increasingly exciting, and with initiatives like the Africa Agenda 2063 – ‘The Africa We Want,’ it’s time for the diaspora to begin exploring the continent, starting with Kenya,” Barine said.

ALSO READ: Africa a key trade, investment destination, says Murmu

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New UK-Kenya investment partnership rings in UK trade visit

The partnership aims to drive the listing of new investment products in the Kenyan market and increase the amount of private sector capital..reports Asian Lite News

The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) and UK government programme MOBILIST, have announced a new partnership at a launch event in Nairobi. The launch was attended by His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner for Africa, John Humphrey, at the start of a three-day visit to Kenya.

The partnership aims to drive the listing of new investment products in the Kenyan market and increase the amount of private sector capital available for development and climate projects in Kenya, and generate growth.

MOBILIST, an innovative part of the UK Government’s investment partnerships offer, provides investment and technical assistance to help businesses that contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to overcome the barriers that keep them from listing on a stock exchange.

The programme has similar partnerships with several emerging market exchanges, including the Nigerian Exchange and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), and will consider applications from eligible Kenyan firms.

Trade Commissioner Humphrey’s visit to Kenya, which comes after recent trips to Egypt and Ethiopia, will focus on delivering long-term investment projects that support the UK-Kenya Strategic Partnership – an ambitious five-year agreement that is unlocking mutual economic benefits for the UK and Kenya, without loading Kenya with unsustainable debt.

In Nairobi he will meet the Cabinet Secretary for Investments, Trade and Industry, H.E Salim Mvurya, to drive forward the implementation of flagship UK-Kenya climate projects that support President Ruto’s Africa Green Industrialisation Initiative (AGII). He will also launch the British Business Breakfast Club, to listen to the challenges facing British-Kenyan enterprises.

Humphrey will also visit Naivasha to meet one of Kenya’s biggest exporters of cut flowers, Flamingo Flowers – a British business that employs 11,000 people in Kenya. They are benefitting from the global suspension of the 8% export tariff for cut flowers entering the UK, an example of the UK supporting markets that matter to Kenya, by removing barriers in areas which aim to have an immediate economic impact.

His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner for Africa, John Humphrey, said. “Mobilising investment solutions in Kenya are vital to economic growth as they provide a platform for Kenyan businesses to raise the capital they need to expand their operations, increase cross-border trade, and employ more Kenyans – and at the same tackle climate change and achieve critical development goals. Long-term investments that deliver lasting change for the people of both our countries are the cornerstone of the UK-Kenya economic relationship. We go far when we go together – I am delighted to be back in Kenya to deliver our mutually beneficial partnership which is rooted in respect.”

Nairobi Securities Exchange CEO, Frank Mwiti, said, “The NSE is delighted to partner with the UK government-backed MOBILIST Programme. The strategic partnership between the NSE and MOBILIST aligns with our new strategic focus aimed at enabling the NSE to play a more dynamic role in mobilising and channelling capital to sectors that have the most significant capital needs, with a special focus on sustainable development. As a market, we will continue providing a pivotal intersection connecting capital to investment-grade opportunities in Kenya for sustained economic growth.”

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Kenyan president dismisses Cabinet

Critics accused the president of choosing political cronies and departing from the previous practice of picking technocrats to be in charge of ministries…reports Asian Lite News

Kenyan President William Ruto dismissed almost all of his Cabinet ministers and promised to form a new government that will be lean and efficient following weeks of protests over high taxes and poor governance.

In a televised address, the president also dismissed the attorney general and said ministries will be run by their permanent secretaries.

Ruto said he made the decision after listening to the people and that he would form a broad-based government after consultations.

Kenya has seen three weeks of unrest in which protesters stormed into parliament on June 25 after a finance bill was passed that proposed tax increases. More than 30 people died in the protests, which have morphed into calls for the president to resign.

Ruto said the prime Cabinet secretary, Musalia Mudavadi, a key political ally, would remain in office.

He said the dismissals followed “a holistic appraisal of the performance” of the Cabinet and that the new government would help him “in accelerating and expediting the necessary, urgent and irreversible implementation of radical programs to deal with the burden of debt, raising domestic resources, expanding job opportunities, eliminating wastage and unnecessary duplication of a multiplicity of government agencies and slay the dragon of corruption.”

Ruto appointed 21 Cabinet ministers following his election in 2022. Critics accused the president of choosing political cronies and departing from the previous practice of picking technocrats to be in charge of ministries.

Three ministers resigned from their elected positions to take up ministerial appointments. Others lost the election and were seen as being awarded by the president with political appointments.

Several ministries including agriculture and health have been engulfed by corruption scandals involving fake fertilizer and misappropriation of funds.

The protesters accused the Cabinet of incompetence, arrogance and displays of opulence as Kenyans battle with high taxes and a cost of living crisis.

Demonstrators called for the president’s resignation even though he said he would not sign the finance bill that proposed higher taxes.

Ruto apologized for the “arrogance and show of opulence” by legislators and ministers and said he took responsibility and would speak to them.

He also announced austerity measures including the dissolution of 47 state corporations with overlapping functions to save money and the withdrawal of funding for the first lady’s office, among others.

Analyst and commentator Herman Manyora called the dismissal of the Cabinet a “bold move” that was necessary to quell the discontent in the country.

This is the first time a sitting president has dismissed Cabinet ministers under the new constitution. The last time a similar move occurred was in 2005 after a failed referendum when then-President Mwai Kibaki dismissed his ministers to assert his political authority.

Kenya police boss quits

Kenya’s police boss resigned Friday, the latest attempt by the country’s president to respond to growing concerns of police brutality in response to protests triggered by a proposed tax hike.

Protesters stormed parliament on June 25 after a bill was passed that proposed tax increases, forcing lawmakers to flee through an underground tunnel. Police responded by opening fire on protesters in the streets. The protests have morphed into calls for President William Ruto to resign.

Ruto has sought to respond to the social outcry with a series of steps. He withdrew the tax hike proposal and on Thursday he followed up by dismissing almost all of his Cabinet ministers. He vowed to form a new government that will be lean and efficient.

In his latest move Friday, Ruto accepted the resignation of inspector general Japhet Koome. The presidential office said the deputy, Douglas Kanja, would step in as acting inspector general.

The social unrest has played out in a country generally viewed as a regional leader in Africa due to its size and political stability, and which is a key ally of Western countries in the counterterrorism fight and other issues. Underlining its international role, 400 Kenyan police landed in violence-hit Haiti in recent weeks to lead a UN-backed multinational force. Underlying Kenya’s stature, President Joe Biden honored Ruto with a state dinner at the White House in May.

ALSO READ-Kenya’s president vows to act against police brutality

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Kenya’s president vows to act against police brutality

William Ruto (Front) speaks after receiving a certificate to confirm his victory in the presidential election at a tallying center in Nairobi, Kenya, on Aug. 15, 2022. (Photo by Joy Nabukewa/Xinhua/IANS)

Ruto said he regretted the abduction and that he would take action, adding that “that is not right.” “You don’t deserve the kind of treatment you went through,” he said…reports Asian Lite News

Kenya’s President William Ruto on Friday apologized for the “arrogance and show of opulence” by legislators and ministers from the ruling party and promised action against “rogue” police officers who shot at unarmed civilians during deadly protests and the storming of parliament over plans to hike taxes.

Ruto, referring to what he called arrogant statements made by officials, said public speaking was “difficult” and some people make “mistakes” for which he takes responsibility and promised change in the conduct of officials.

Kenya experienced two weeks of unrest during which Parliament was stormed by protesters during a finance bill vote. The president was hosted Friday on the social media platform X by popular social media influencer Osama Otero, who said he was abducted on the night of the protests and beaten by police.

Ruto said he regretted the abduction and that he would take action, adding that “that is not right.” “You don’t deserve the kind of treatment you went through,” he said.

The president said the police are independent and not controlled by the executive branch of government but promised to ensure that those responsible would be prosecuted. “I am ultimately responsible because I am president, and that is why I said it was regrettable,” Ruto said.

During the storming of Parliament during a finance bill vote — which would have resulted in a tax increase if approved — legislators fled through an underground tunnel. Police responded by opening fire and several protesters were shot dead.

Ruto later said he would not sign the finance bill and communicated to Parliament that the proposed legislation should be withdrawn, but protests continued with calls for him to resign over poor governance.

Kenya has been plagued by corruption, with the latest case involving the sale and distribution of thousands of fake fertilizer bags worth millions of shillings by the agriculture ministry.

The president on Friday was accused of not showing empathy and not mentioning the names of those who died during the protests. He responded by saying “people are born differently.” But he added that he was scheduled to speak with the mother of a boy who was shot and killed during protests.

Ruto was accused of not acknowledging the correct number of those who died in the protests. He put the number at 25 while the Kenya National Commission for Human Rights said 39 people were killed.

An hour before the online engagement, Ruto in a televised address announced specific austerity measures that included the dissolution of “47 state corporations with overlapping and duplicative functions” to save on operation and maintenance costs.

He also “suspended” the appointment of 50 chief administrative secretaries that were challenged in court on the basis of the positions being unconstitutional.

The president also announced that the offices of the first lady and the spouses of the deputy president and prime Cabinet secretary would not be funded using public money.

The young people who spoke during Otero’s Friday engagement on X emphasized the need for the president to sack incompetent government ministers in a reorganization that he stated was “coming soon.”

ALSO READ-US warns Kenya’s rising debt threatens economic stability

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US warns Kenya’s rising debt threatens economic stability

Kenya is facing violent protests due to its ongoing economic crisis. The East African nation’s total debt stands at USD 80 billion…reports Asian Lite News

The US has warned that Kenya’s rising debt burden is undermining its ability to provide quality medical care and education to its citizens, shining the spotlight on expensive debt procured in the last decade partly from China, reports Business Daily Africa.

The Kenyan business daily quoted a newly published biennial report by the Office of the United States Trade Representative on the implementation of the African Growth and Opportunity Act, stating, “Kenya’s ability to adequately fund its social services (which include education, healthcare, and housing) and poverty reduction programs is increasingly constrained by the cost of servicing its debt, partly due to the continued weakening of the local currency.”

“As a result, Kenya continues to allocate more money for debt repayment than it does for development expenditures,” the report quoted.

Kenya is facing violent protests due to its ongoing economic crisis. The East African nation’s total debt stands at USD 80 billion, representing 68 per cent of its GDP, exceeding the World Bank and IMF’s recommended maximum of 55 per cent.

Most of Kenya’s debt is held by international bondholders, with China being the largest bilateral creditor, owed USD 5.7 billion.

The Kenyan business daily reported that ballooning debt servicing expenses have in recent years overtaken expenditures on salaries and wages, administration, operation, and maintenance of public offices for the national government.

“This underlines the impact of commercial and semi-concessional loans that Kenya has contracted in the last decade to put up much-needed roads, bridges, power plants, and a modern railway line,” said Business Daily Africa in the report.

It mentioned that the latest disclosures from the Treasury, for instance, show debt repayment costs gobbled up an equivalent of three-quarters (75.47 per cent) of taxes collected in 11 months of the just-ended financial year.

Washington’s concerns come on the back of the US and her Western allies increasing scrutiny of secretive clauses in loans that China has offered African countries.

The Kenyan business daily mentioned a study by AidData, a research laboratory at the College of William & Mary in the US, which found that the terms of Beijing’s loan deals with developing countries were usually secretive and required borrowing nations such as Kenya to prioritize repayment to Chinese state-owned lenders ahead of other creditors.

The dataset, based on an analysis of loan agreements between 2000 and 2019, suggested the Chinese deals have clauses for “more elaborate repayment safeguards” than its “peers in the office credit market.”

The business daily said that Kenya paid China Sh152.69 billion for interest and principal sums falling due in the financial year ended June 2024, 42.14 percent more than Sh107.42 billion in the year that ended June 2023.

The US says increasing debt obligations, corruption, and the lingering effects of the pandemic on household and company earnings have nearly paralyzed Kenya’s march towards an “industrializing, middle-income country that provides a high standard of living to all its citizens by 2030, in a clean and secure environment.” (ANI)

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At least 30 killed in Kenya anti-government protests

The largely peaceful rallies turned violent on Tuesday when lawmakers passed the deeply unpopular tax increases following pressure from the International Monetary Fund (IMF)…reports Asian Lite News

At least 30 people died in protests in Kenya this week sparked by a government drive to substantially raise taxes in the East African country, Human Rights Watch said Saturday.

“Kenyan security forces shot directly into crowds of protesters on (Tuesday) June 25, 2024, including protesters who were fleeing,” the NGO said in a statement.

“Although there is no confirmation on the exact number of people killed in Nairobi and other towns, Human Rights Watch found that at least 30 people had been killed on that day based on witness accounts, publicly available information, hospital and mortuary records in Nairobi as well as witness accounts,” the statement said.

“Shooting directly into crowds without justification, including as protesters try to flee, is completely unacceptable under Kenyan and international law,” said Otsieno Namwaya, associate Africa director at Human Rights Watch.

“The Kenyan authorities need to make clear to their forces that they should be protecting peaceful protesters and that impunity for police violence can no longer be tolerated,” Namwaya added.

The largely peaceful rallies turned violent on Tuesday when lawmakers passed the deeply unpopular tax increases following pressure from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

After the announcement of the vote, crowds stormed the parliament complex and a fire broke out in clashes unprecedented in the history of the country since its independence from Britain in 1963.

President William Ruto’s administration ultimately withdrew the bill.

The state-funded Kenya National Commission on Human Rights said it had recorded 22 deaths and 300 injured victims, adding it would open an investigation.

“Eight military officers came out and just opened fire on people. They killed several people, including those who were not part of the protests,” HRW quoted a rights activist in Nairobi as saying.

“Kenya’s international partners should continue to actively monitor the situation… and further urge Kenyan authorities to speedily but credibly and transparently investigate abuses by the security forces,” the rights watchdog said.

Ruto had already rolled back some tax measures after the protests began, prompting the treasury to warn of a gaping budget shortfall of 200 billion shillings ($1.6 billion).

The cash-strapped government had said previously that the increases were necessary to service Kenya’s massive debt of some 10 trillion shillings ($78 billion), equal to roughly 70 percent of GDP.

The Washington-based IMF has urged the country to implement fiscal reforms in order to access crucial funding from the international lender.

“The bill was expected to raise an additional $2.3 billion in the next fiscal year, in part to meet IMF requirements to increase revenues,” HRW said.

“Widespread outrage should be a wake-up call to the Kenyan government and the IMF that they cannot sacrifice rights in the name of economic recovery,” Namwaya said.

“Economic sustainability can only be achieved by building a new social contract that raises revenues fairly, manages them responsibly, and funds services and programs that protect everyone’s rights.”

ALSO READ-Biden Names Kenya Major US Ally

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Biden Names Kenya Major US Ally

The MNNA status is a designation under US law that provides foreign partners with certain benefits in the areas of defence trade and security cooperation….reports Asian Lite News

Washington, June 25 (IANS) US President Joe Biden has designated Kenya as a major non-NATO ally (MNNA) of his country.

“By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including section 517 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended (22 U.S.C. 2321k)…, I hereby designate Kenya as a Major Non-NATO Ally of the United States for the purposes of the Act and the Arms Export Control Act…,” stated a memorandum published by the White House on Monday.

The MNNA status is a designation under US law that provides foreign partners with certain benefits in the areas of defence trade and security cooperation.

According to the US Department of State, the MNNA designation is a “powerful symbol of the close relationship the United States shares with those countries and demonstrates our deep respect for the friendship for the countries to which it is extended”.

While the MNNA status provides military and economic privileges, it does not entail any security commitments to the designated country.

Biden had pledged to designate Kenya as a major non-NATO ally during Kenyan President William Ruto’s three-day visit to the US last month.

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‘Efforts underway to restore internet in East Africa’

Mugonyi directed the service providers to take proactive steps to secure alternative routes for their traffic…reports Asian Lite News

Kenya’s telecommunications industry regulator said on Monday that efforts are underway to restore internet services that have been disrupted across East Africa.

The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) confirmed that a deep-sea fiber cut occurred on Sunday at South Africa’s Mtunzini teleport station, affecting a number of fiber cables serving Kenya, including the Eastern Africa Submarine Cable System (EASSy) and the Seacom cables, Xinhua news agency reported.

“We wish to inform individual and corporate consumers that the recovery process has since commenced, but internet intermittency and slow speeds may remain in the coming few days before services are fully recovered,” CA Director General David Mugonyi said in a statement issued in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya.

Mugonyi directed the service providers to take proactive steps to secure alternative routes for their traffic and is monitoring the situation closely to ensure that incoming and outbound internet connectivity is available.

According to Ben Roberts, group chief technology and innovation officer at Liquid Intelligent Technologies, a pan-African internet services provider, the outages on the two submarine fiber cables that connect Kenya and South Africa severely impacted internet services in nations in East Africa.

Ben added that three crucial submarine cables in the Red Sea, Seacom, Europe India Gateway (EIG), and Asia-Africa-Europe 1 (AAE-1), have also suffered cuts and remain unrepaired, leading to the widespread outage.

The immediate cause of the faults, which are reportedly affecting the Eassy and Seacom cable systems that run along Africa’s east coast, could not be established.

However, according to West Indian Ocean Cable Company operating (Wiocc), an investor in the Eassy cable system, Eassy has experienced a cut between South Africa and Mozambique.

Kenyan operator Safaricom, which confirmed the outage on Sunday, said they were working on restoring a stable internet connection.

“We have experienced an outage on one of the undersea cables that deliver internet traffic in and out of the country. We have since activated redundancy measures to minimise service interruption and keep you connected as we await the full restoration of the cable,” Safaricom said in a notice.

“You may, however, experience reduced internet speeds,” it added.

Mugonyi said the East African Marine Systems (TEAMS) cable, which has not been affected by the fiber cut, is currently being utilized for local traffic flow while redundancy on the South Africa route has been activated to minimize the impact.

This is the second time Africa has experienced a major fiber cut this year.

In March, a suspected underwater rock slid off the coast of Cote d’Ivoire, causing several submarine cables to go offline.

The outage impacted 13 African countries located on the West African seaboard, resulting in either degraded services or near-total internet outages.

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UAE, Kenya ink mining, tech investment deal

The Memorandum of Understanding has set the stage for investment collaboration in mining and technology sectors between UAE and Kenya….reports Asian Lite News

The United Arab Emirates and Kenya have signed an investment memorandum of understanding, setting the stage for investment collaboration in mining and technology sectors.

Simultaneously, ADQ, the Abu Dhabi-based investment and holding company, announced a finance framework agreement with Kenya’s ministry, facilitating investments in priority sectors of the Kenyan economy, with a potential investment sum of up to US$500 million.

Kenya’s mining sector boasts significant growth potential owing to its abundant reserves of gold, copper, ilmenite, tantalum, and various non-metallic minerals.

The advancement of this industry can substantially strengthen Kenya’s economy by generating employment opportunities, improving livelihoods, and positioning the nation as a prominent mining participant in Africa.

Known as the “Silicon Savannah”, Kenya is also the dominant economy in East Africa, contributing to more than 40 percent of the region’s GDP.

The MoU focuses on mineral exploration, mine development, mineral processing, refining, and mineral marketing in Kenya. One of the key objectives is to explore opportunities for technology transfer in Kenya’s mineral sector, that would support innovation and growth.

The two countries will also assess avenues for collaboration in promoting responsible stewardship of the mineral sector, with a strong emphasis on environmental, social, and governance practices, in addition to exploring avenues for collaboration in research and development within the designated sectors.

Mohamed Hassan Alsuwaidi, Minister of Investment of the UAE, said: “This Memorandum of Understanding marks a new chapter in the shared economic journey of the UAE and Kenya. Through this partnership, we are laying down the foundation for a future where sustainable mining practices, innovation, and responsible stewardship form the pillars of our mutual growth.”

“We are committed to leveraging technology to enhance capacities and establish robust governance practices that will not only propel the mineral sector but also ensure overall prosperity of our nations.”

The MoU and agreement have been signed on the heels of a bilateral investment cooperation signed to advance Kenya’s digital infrastructure sector, which was signed last month.

Meanwhile, ADQ, an Abu Dhabi-based investment and holding company, agreed to establish a finance and investment framework with the National Treasury and Economic Planning Ministry of the Republic of Kenya to explore intended investments of up to US$500 million in priority sectors of the East African country’s highly diversified economy.

The agreement aims to explore and leverage investment opportunities in Kenya to promote the growth and development of its national economy, which is the largest in the East Africa region and is projected to achieve growth between 5 and 6 percent in 2024.

Earlier this year, the two countries concluded a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) that will enable the trading partners to capitalise on mutual opportunities in sectors including food production, mining, technology and logistics.

Mohamed Hassan Alsuwaidi, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of ADQ, said: “This agreement not only strengthens the robust economic ties between the UAE and Kenya but also underscores ADQ’s commitment to developing partnerships in key markets that complement our investment strategy, allowing other nations to benefit from the considerable and diverse expertise within our portfolio.”

“We are confident that our investment will bring forth notable opportunities that will unlock tangible value and contribute to the economic growth of Kenya and the broader East African region, harnessing its vast potential for development.”

Kenya is among East Africa’s most dynamic economies and was one of the first African countries with which the UAE initiated bilateral trade deal talks in 2022. In 2023, non-oil trade between the UAE and Kenya rose by 26.4 percent year-on-year to $3.1 billion.

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