Kenya and Germany on Wednesday concluded negotiations of the draft Comprehensive Migration and Mobility Partnership Agreement.
In a joint statement released by the State Department of Diaspora Affairs, the government said the agreement will provide a framework for cooperation on migration and labour mobility between the two countries.
“The Agreement will be implemented progressively starting with a Job Fair in Nairobi. Both countries are committed to the complete implementation of the Agreement by the Joint Implementation Committee,” the dispatch said.
The negotiations seek to identify and strengthen areas that will facilitate safe and impactful labor mobility.
However, there are fears the deal seeks to fast track a deportation agreement, a position PS Njogu has denied.
Germany has been in talks with Kenya, Moldova, Georgia, Colombia, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan about “migration partnerships with the aim of faster deportations of people without permission to stay in Germany”.
Germany has started looking for avenues to curb irregular migration as the number of migrants soars, with a 78% increase in first-time asylum requests in the first seven months of last year.
Among the targeted are those whose application for asylum has been rejected, illegal refugees and criminals.
The second round of negotiations were held in Nairobi on May 14 and 15 and were preceded by the first round in Berlin, Germany in March.
The Kenyan delegation was led by Labour and Skills Development Shadrack Mwadime and PS State Department of Diaspora Affairs Roseline Njogu as the lead negotiator.
The German delegation was led by Dr. Joachim Stamp, the Federal Government Special Commissioner for Migration Agreements, and Holger Schamberg, Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community, as the lead negotiator.
Stamp said the deal would bring about more order and opportunities in migration.
The draft agreement will be subjected to the relevant internal legal and procedural checks by both governments before signing in September, 2024, the statement added.
On January 29, a two-day German-Kenya Migration Policy Workshop was held in Nairobi to explore opportunities, challenges and strategies for labour migration”.
The Germany Embassy in Kenya and Diaspora Affairs department said the workshop was about skilled labour migration, “providing job opportunities for skilled Kenyans in Germany, where they are in demand”.
In her remarks at the workshop, PS Njogu said her department is committed towards championing the rights, welfare and interests of Kenyans abroad, and that the meeting would have a huge impact in shaping the landscape of labour migration between the two countries.
