Ruto Seeks UAE Partnership to Extend Standard Gauge Railway

On Tuesday, January 14, President William Ruto announced that Kenya was seeking financial support from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to extend the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR).

In a statement following a meeting with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and UAE Investment minister Mohamed Hassan Alsuwaidi, Ruto stated that the aim was to extend the railway to neighbouring Uganda and South Sudan.

“We are exploring a partnership agreement with the United Arab Emirates to extend the Standard Gauge Railway to connect Kenya, Uganda and South Sudan,” part of the statement read.

“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.”

This is a clear diversion from pursuing China, which was not only responsible for the initial construction but also named severally in the extension plans.

In a statement two months ago, Transport Principal Secretary Mohammed Daghar announced that the extension of SGR to Uganda would begin shortly after a meeting between China’s Investment delegation and Kenya’s Transport CS Davis Chirchir.

“We are in top gear to ensure we extend the line all the way to Kisumu, a distance of 362 kilometers, through phase 2B, and then onwards to Malaba, a distance of 106 kilometres,” Daghar stated.

“The project will enable us to connect with Uganda, DRC, South Sudan, and Rwanda,’’ he added, stating that the Ksh648 Billion project would be funded by the Chinese government.

In his discussions with the UAE’s first-in-command, Ruto also signed the Kenya-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), opening up the Arab nation’s market to more Kenyan goods.

The agreement is the first of its kind for any African country and will bolster Kenya’s position as a gateway to East and Southern Africa.

Already, Kenya’s trade relations with the UAE are at an all-time high with total trade between the two countries amounting to Ksh445 billion in just 2023.

Overall, UAE is Kenya’s sixth largest export destination and the second largest source of imports for Kenya accounting for 16 per cent of its total imports.