Meeting between Kenya's Ruto and UAE officials. (Photo: William Ruot/Facebook).
Kenyan President William Ruto has encouraged the United Arab Emirates government to extend the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) to connect his country with Uganda and South Sudan.
The SGR inaugurated in 2017, is part of China’s new ‘Belt and Road Initiative’ and aims to open East and Central Africa up to international trade and investment.
However, the railway connecting the Kenyan port of Mombasa with landlocked neighbors ended in the Rift Valley in 2019, 468 kilometers (290 miles) short of the border with Uganda, after Beijing withdrew support.
Mr. Ruto then started discussions with the UAE to secure financing to complete the regional railway after China cut infrastructure funding.
“We are exploring a partnership agreement with the United Arab Emirates to extend the Standard Gauge Railway to connect Kenya, Uganda and South Sudan,” Ruto said in a statement on his official Facebook page.
He said the meeting with UAE delegation agreed to conduct a feasibility study over the extension of the SGR due to its capacity to foster regional integration and promote trade.
The chairperson of East African Community was in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the oil-rich Gulf kingdom where he held talks with the UAE Investment minister Mohamed Hassan Alsuwaidi.
Kenya and the UAE signed a comprehensive economic partnership agreement on Tuesday, aiming to boost trade volumes by removing barriers, simplifying customs processes and promoting investments.
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