UAE Embassy in Nairobi is open

Rumours of its closure are thought to have circulated because of the suspension of its consular services.

ABU DHABI // The UAE Embassy in Nairobi has temporarily suspended its consular services, it was confirmed on Tuesday.

An employee at the embassy said that Kenyans wishing to apply for a work visa or attestations for the UAE will not be able to do so until further notice.

“The embassy isn’t closed but work visas and attestations cannot be issued for now,” she said.

“It has been the case for the past three weeks and it will resume eventually. People will have to wait until the consular services reopen if they want to get work visas.”

She said the embassy’s operating hours remained 9am to 4pm.

A Kenyan embassy official in Abu Dhabi said that the rumours of the UAE Embassy in Nairobi closing were false.

“It is operating and working normally,” he said. “They simply suspended some of the consular services but the ambassador and staff are there.”

He said the suspension might have been because of an upgrade of their systems.

“They informed the public that the services will be open again very soon,” he said. “The relationship between the countries has been strong since 1982 and they are planning to make it one of the biggest embassies in the region.”

A number of residents in Nairobi posted comments online complaining about the suspension of services. One man said he had received an employment visa issued from Abu Dhabi but found the offices in Nairobi closed. Another received an employment visa from Dubai and required his passport to be stamped.

“The lack of information around this is quite concerning,” wrote another resident.

“It would have been more professional to have people referred to another embassy to assist on urgent issues or at least a desk in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.”

Relations between the UAE and Kenya are strong, especially after Kenya’s president, Uhuru Kenyatta, received Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, the Foreign Minister, earlier in June to enhance cooperation in economy, investment and energy fields.

“Kenya and the UAE enjoy very good relations,” the Kenyan embassy official said.

“We have so many fields like investment and trade between both countries. Kenya and the UAE have been trading for the past 10 years.”

Last November, both parties signed an agreement on double taxation and protection of investments.

“Both countries have a good environment for business so the Emirati community has an advantage to invest in Kenya,” he said.

“There are quite a number of Emiratis who travel to Kenya as tourists from the UAE, especially during the summer holidays.”

He said both parties were planning a bilateral meeting for cooperation to take place in the UAE before the end of the year.

“We will discuss how to move our relationship further and sign agreements in the political and consular fields,” he said.

“Our relationship with the UAE is good and it is one of the largest trading partners for Kenya.”

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Nairobi confirmed the UAE Embassy in the capital was open but the time-frame for the restoration of consular services was unknown.