Germany inks deal to absorb 250,000 Kenyan workers
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Germany to ease immigration laws to absorb 250,000 Kenyan workers to bridge huge labour requirements
Germany to ease immigration laws to absorb 250,000 Kenyan workers to bridge huge labour requirements.
A deal between Kenya and Germany could see the latter open its doors for 250,000 Kenyans to work there to meet the European nation’s huge labour requirements.
The deal was announced by President William Ruto on Friday, 5, 2023 during a joint press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
The European country will absorb more professional, skilled and semi-skilled Kenyans under the agreement.
To enable this, Ruto urged Olaf Scholz to review and ease immigration laws to enable Kenyans find employment in Germany.
Further, they agreed to establish a twin institutions’ framework for pairing Kenyan technical and vocational training (TVET) colleges with selected TVET colleges in Germany, with the goal of facilitating the labour migration from Kenya to Germany upon graduation.
“We have agreed to establish a technical team from my office and the ministries of Foreign Affairs and Labour in both countries, to initiate discussions, expeditiously navigate the procedures and formulate an appropriate framework for the export of labour to Germany,” Dr Ruto said.
Germany offered to support, expand and upgrade TVET institutions and centres of excellence in the country from three to seven under a programme that will see more Kenyan youth benefit, and alleviate joblessness.
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“To bridge the language gap, we agreed to introduce the teaching and learning of German in basic education institutions, TVETs and other institutions of higher learning. Germany agreed to support us in training teachers,” Dr Ruto said, adding that the two countries agreed on the need to align, as much as possible, the Kenyan and German TVET curricula.
However, the President Ruto decried the fact that the trade balance was in favour of Germany.
He said Kenya’s exports to Germany in 2021 were worth only $130 million, while imports amounted to $392 million.
“I have therefore called on the Chancellor to review tariff barriers and allow Kenyan products to enter Germany as well as the European market,” President Ruto said.
Kenya also urged Germany to support its efforts to conclude negotiation of the Economic Partnership Agreement between the East African Community and the European Union.
The two leaders also agreed on the need for the world to work together to mitigate the effects of climate change.
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