Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta on Tuesday attended the opening session of the Kenya-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states business forum in Dubai, where he sought to woo investors to set up base in the East African country.



"We are here to listen. We are here to facilitate. We are here to do what these investors require from us in order to come into our country to bring their investment, to help us create jobs and to help us develop our economy," he said.

Kenyatta's presence at the Kenya-Gulf Cooperation Council was part of scheduled activities in his working visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The Forum, held on the margins of the Expo 2020 Dubai, was attended by captains of industry and business executives from both Kenya and the Gulf region among other delegations.

President Kenyatta emphasized that Kenya seeks to strengthen its trade with the UAE, noting that a wide range of goods and services that the UAE imports from other parts of the world could be produced and supplied by Kenya.

"These include services such as hospitality and tourism, banking and financial services, ICT and data processing," he said.

"With respect to goods, we have animals and animal products, gold, cut flowers, fish, pharmaceuticals, tobacco, textiles and apparel, vegetables and fruits that the UAE could procure from Kenya at competitive prices."

The Kenyan leader noted that enhancing trade between his country and the Gulf countries would help to address the urgent need for jobs and economic opportunities for young people.

He urged business leaders from the private and public sectors to develop a special trading framework that will give preference to small and medium enterprises in the East African Community and the GCC.

Kenyatta was accompanied in his trip by various top government officials, including Foreign Minister Raychelle Omamo, Health Minister Mutahi Kagwe, Agriculture Minister Peter Munya, Tourism Minister Najib Balala, Industrialization, Trade and Enterprise Development Minister Betty Maina and Sports Minister Amina Mohamed.

During his stay in the UAE, President Kenyatta is set to hold talks with His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi at the Sea Palace in Abu Dhabi.
President Uhuru Kenyatta on Tuesday evening held talks with the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

The two leaders discussed several matters concerning Kenya and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) including strengthening bilateral ties for the mutual benefit of the people of the two countries.

Leading their respective delegations at the meeting held at the Sea Palace in Abu Dhabi, the two leaders agreed on the need for Kenya and the UAE to explore the possibility of signing a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) to enhance trade.

They also discussed measures to be undertaken to address the trade imbalance that is currently tilted in favour of the Gulf nation.

Earlier today, Uhuru graced the opening of the Kenya-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states business forum in Dubai on the first day of his working visit to the UAE.