Scholz described Kenya as a young and democratic country – with an average age of just 20 – that has the capacity to train the kind of workers Germany needs.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Kenyan President William Ruto signed a migration agreement between their respective countries on Friday, with which Berlin aims to combat the lack of qualified labour and facilitate the repatriation of Kenyans.
The agreement, signed in the German capital by Kenyan Foreign Minister Musalia Mudavadi and German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, This is a “very important” step in the relations between both countries.the German Prime Minister added.
“For Kenyans, the skilled job prospects “or that young people come here to train,” said the foreign minister, in a press conference with Ruto, moments after the signing of the agreement.
“This is a good thing because it can help us to offset the labour shortage, the effects of which we are already feeling and which will continue to do so,” added Olaf Scholz, referring to one of the problems facing the German economy, the largest in the world and the third largest in the European Union.
It is estimated that half a million jobs Jobs for skilled workers will become vacant in Germany in 2023, a situation that will cost the country’s companies 49 billion eurosaccording to estimates by the Institute for German Economics (IW), a Cologne-based economic think tank.
Scholz defined Kenya as a young and democratic country, with a average age of only 20 years – which has the capacity to train the type of workers that Germany needs, a country with an aging demographic, whose average age is 44 years.
“Kenya has a young population that is very well educated in some sectors, and who are trying to use their talents but are not succeeding, so it is in the interest of Kenya and Germany that some of these qualified young people have the opportunity to exploit their talents in Germany,” said the Chancellor.
“The agreement we signed is very important, we negotiated for a year and addressed all the factors to ensure that Kenya benefits as much as Germany,” replied Ruto, for whom his country has the “the best human capital in the world“.
On the “other side of the coin”, an expression used by the German chancellor himself, the document It also opens the possibility of speeding up the repatriation of Kenyans. who do not meet the legal conditions to remain in Germany, where Kenya currently has around 14,500 nationals.
Scholz highlighted the mechanism provided for in the agreement, which allows Kenyans who do not have the right to stay in Germany to “return to their country more quickly.”
Faeser also expressed his satisfaction with the text signed in Berlin, in a statement in which he indicated that the German government wants to “enforce the return of people without the right to remain in the country, an important element in limiting irregular migration.”
In the same vein, Ruto said the signed text offers an opportunity “to all those who cannot stay in Germany to return home.”
“I can assure you that Kenya is a very beautiful country. No Kenyan will have any problems returning home. We have a wonderful country,” he said.
Source: Observadora
