Sharjah, UAE— The emirate of Sharjah is seeking to boost economic and investment cooperation with Uganda and Kenya.
In this connection, the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) will dispatch a trade mission to Uganda and Kenya to enhance ties with the two African nations.
Led by the Sharjah Exports Development Centre (SEDC), the mission is set to explore ways to further development and foster stronger ties as part of the Chamber’s commitment to supporting the local business community, enhancing their activities, and facilitating the growth of industrial and commercial exports from Sharjah.
Abdullah Sultan Al Owais, Chairman of SCCI, is leading the delegation, accompanied by several members of the Chamber’s Board of Directors, including Abdulaziz Mohammed Shattaf, Assistant Director-General of the Communication and Business Sector at the Sharjah Chamber. The delegation also includes officials from the Chamber and the Centre, as well as prominent businessmen and representatives from major industrial and commercial entities in Sharjah.
The trade mission’s journey will commence with the first leg taking place in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, where the Sharjah-Kenya Business Forum was organized. The mission will then proceed to Uganda, where it will hold business forums bringing together officials and leaders from chambers of commerce and industry.
These business gatherings will explore avenues for establishing new partnerships and will feature events and meetings with business communities from the UAE, Kenya, and Uganda, with the overarching goal of highlighting investment opportunities and fostering joint economic collaborations.
Abdullah Sultan Al Owais emphasized that this East African mission aims to support the UAE’s strategic vision of enhancing its global trade and investment reach, as well as widening its network of international trade allies to foster business development.
Al Owais stressed the importance of the mission not only in identifying opportunities in emerging African markets but also in enabling national companies and investors to establish new collaborations and partnerships with their counterparts across Africa, thereby boosting exports and expanding business operations into new geographical areas.
He highlighted that the mission’s agenda is packed with a series of meetings with officials from economic institutions, chambers of commerce, investment promotion agencies, export development and promotion centers, and other relevant entities representing the business community in the target markets.
Running until November 10, the trade mission takes place against the backdrop of flourishing trade relations between the UAE, Uganda, and Nairobi. In 2022, Uganda’s imports from the UAE amounted to $220,702 witnessing an annual growth rate of 20% over the past five years.
Meanwhile, exports from Uganda to the UAE surged from $82 million in 2009 to $290 million in 2021.