President William Ruto has announced a new deal with the government of Qatar that will create 13,000 new job opportunities for Kenyans.
In a statement on Wednesday, November 5, Ruto welcomed the new opportunities, saying they would expand Kenya’s presence in the global job market.
The deal was reached after a constructive meeting between Ruto and Qatar’s Labour Minister Ali bin Saeed bin Samikh Al Marri on the sidelines of the United Nations Social Development Summit in Doha.
"We welcome Qatar’s offer of 13,000 new job opportunities in various skill categories for our workers. This will increase the Kenyan workforce in Qatar to about 90,000, giving more of our young people access to global employment, competitive earnings, and pathways to uplift their families and communities while contributing to national growth," Ruto said.
Ruto noted that his administration remains committed to tackling youth unemployment through the Labour Mobility Programme, a flagship initiative aimed at connecting skilled Kenyans to overseas opportunities.
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"We are committed to expanding quality job opportunities for our young people through the Labour Mobility Programme, helping to equip them to acquire global experience and skills that they ultimately bring back home to support Kenya’s development," he added.
In addition, Kenya and Qatar also agreed to establish a Qatari Visa Centre in Nairobi by early 2026.
The facility is expected to simplify and speed up the recruitment process for Kenyan workers, ensuring transparency in labour migration.
"Together, we agreed to operationalise a Qatari Visa Centre in Nairobi in early 2026. This milestone will streamline the movement of Kenyan workers to Qatar, eliminate past bottlenecks, and strengthen oversight to safeguard our citizens from rogue recruitment practices," he further said.
Elsewhere, this comes months after Kenya entered into several development cooperation agreements with Japan at the ongoing Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 9) in Yokohama City.
In a statement on Thursday, August 21, Interior Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo confirmed that the partnerships are spread across national development and healthcare.
According to the PS, among the deals signed is a Statement of Intent on the Samurai Bond, a financial instrument issued by foreign entities in the Japanese capital markets.
The agreement, signed between Kenya’s National Treasury and Nippon Export and Investment Insurance, is expected to help Kenya tap into Japan’s financial markets.
"Our plan to access financing in the Japanese capital markets is a leap forward in our innovative policy of diversifying resource mobilisation for priority national development and transformation," he noted.
Omollo noted that Kenya also signed a Letter of Intent and Concept Note to accelerate access to Cefiderocol, an antibiotic approved for the treatment of bacterial pneumonia.
The agreement, signed between Kenya’s Ministry of Health and Shionogi & Co. Ltd of Japan, includes support from the Global Antibiotic Research and Development Foundation to ensure the supply of the medicine.
"We also signed a Letter of Intent and Concept Note to Accelerate Access to Cefiderocol, a crucial antibiotic approved for effective treatment of bacterial pneumonia, in Kenya. The agreement also provides for the supply of the medicine with support from the Global Antibiotic Research and Development Foundation.
"It was signed between Kenya's Ministry of Health and Shionogi and Co. Ltd of Japan, which specialises in pharmaceutical research, development and manufacturing," he added.
In addition, a Memorandum of Cooperation on Human Resource Development was signed between the Kenya Industrial Research and Development Institution (KIRDI) and Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
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