Labour Migration: Kenya Finalizes Jobs Deal With Germany

Kenya and Germany have successfully concluded negotiations on the draft Comprehensive Migration and Mobility Partnership Agreement.

The negotiations, that took place in Nairobi on 14th to 15th May, were a follow up of the initial round of negotiations held in Berlin, Germany, in March this year.

The agreement aims to establish a framework for cooperation on migration and labour mobility between the two nations.

Labour and skills development Principal Secretary Shadrack Mwadime headed the Kenyan delegation while Diaspora Affairs PS Roseline Njogu was the lead negotiator on Kenya’s side.

The German Federal Republic delegation on the other hand was led by Dr. Joachim Stamp, the Special Commissioner for Migration Agreements and Mr. Holger Schamberg from the Ministry of Interior and Community.

“Being an international bilateral agreement, the draft agreement shall be subjected to the relevant internal legal and procedural checks by both governments” said the officials in a joint communique issued at the completion of the negotiations.

The official signing has been set for September 2024. Implementation of the agreement will commence with a job fair in Nairobi.

Both countries have committed to its full realisation through the joint implementation committee.

PS Mwadime affirmed his commitment to the process which he said will smoothen the labour mobility for Kenyans.

“We are committed to developing a clear framework to allow migration of Kenyan skilled workers in a safe, orderly and regular manner. This will ease mobility and fast track migration between the two countries.” PS Mwadime said.

He thanked negotiators from both parties for adopting a friendly environment, which made it easy to arrive at general consensus in most of the substantive issues.

The two countries agreed to form the joint committee in February this year following a meeting held in Berlin between Labour CS Florence Bore and her German counterpart Hubertus Heil.

The ongoing negotiations result from the initiative conceptualized between President William Ruto and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

During the first meeting, CS Bore informed the German government of the measures in place to streamline Labour Migration through restructuring of its policies and legal and institutional framework to support seamless Migration and mobility with Germany.

“Kenya seeks to fill the skills deficit in Germany’s labour market with its well-trained, qualified, hardworking and disciplined labour force in various fields of ICT, health care, construction, engineering, agriculture and hospitality among others. We are able and ready to supply the required labour to fill in the skills deficient in your labour market,” said the CS.