diplomacy
Baerbock is banking on a skilled worker agreement with Kenya in the summer
“The vote on this is currently in full swing,” says Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock. photo
© Michael Kappeler/dpa
The agreement is intended to make it easier for Kenyan skilled workers to take up work in Germany. The Foreign Minister speaks of a “win-win situation” for both countries.
Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock is counting on the conclusion of a skilled workers agreement between Germany and Kenya next summer.
“The vote on this is currently in full swing,” said the Green politician after a meeting with Kenyan President William Ruto in his country estate Sagana near Mount Kenya, the highest mountain in the country at over 5,000 meters. “The individual details of this migration agreement are currently being finalized and we hope to be able to finalize it together in the summer.”
Baerbock: A win-win situation
The common goal is to make it easier for Kenyan skilled workers to take up work in Germany, said Baerbock after the conversation with Ruto. “This is a win-win situation for both of us, because there is high youth unemployment in Kenya and for us we are strengthening legal migration to Europe and Germany.” Above all, in this way “skilled workers, who we are trying so hard to recruit worldwide, can also be gained for the German economy.” Germany needs more skilled workers in almost all areas.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz made similar comments last May at a meeting with President Ruto in the Kenyan capital Nairobi. From Kenya, skilled workers from the IT industry in particular could be of interest to Germany. Nairobi is sometimes referred to as Silicon Savannah after the high-tech location Silicon Valley in the USA and has an innovative start-up scene.