Tuesday, January 27, 2026(GERMANY)___Ms. Irene Karari, Director for Skills and Expertise and Dr. Hans-Eckhard Sommer, President of Germany’s Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) met in Germany where they discussed labour mobility and beneficial framework for migration.
The dialogue centered on aligning Kenya’s robust pool of skilled professionals with Germany’s labour market needs, marking a deepening of bilateral cooperation in human resource development and migration management.
Ms. Karari outlined Kenya’s strategic priorities, outlined Kenya's highly qualified talent for key sectors in Germany including healthcare, information and communication technology (ICT), engineering, hospitality, and technical trades.
Further, Karari reinforced the State Department for Diaspora Affairs’ (SDDA) commitment to a rights-based approach, ensuring the protection, engagement, and prosperity of Kenyan citizens abroad within a well-coordinated migration system.
At the same time, Dr. Hans-Eckhard Sommer underscored the indispensable role of German language proficiency in successful labour migration and long-term integration. He detailed Germany’s established support infrastructure, managed by BAMF.
He explained that Germany offers federally funded integration courses and specialized vocational language courses tailored to specific professions and recognition procedures. This system, he noted, ensures it meets actual labour market demands.
Both parties agreed on the imperative to address existing capacity gaps and to strengthen targeted vocational language training. The discussions also explored development of tailored solutions within the bilateral labour migration cooperation framework.
The high-level meeting was attended by a joint delegation, including: Dr. Michael Griesbeck, Vice President of BAMF, Dr. Armin Zitzmann, President of the German Chambers of Commerce and Industry (DIHK), Mr. Markus Lotzsch, Chief Executive Director of IHK and Mr. Bruno Backes, Head of TVET and Labour Mobility Centre, AHK Kenya.
Others were Dr. Addis Mulugeta, Project Manager for International Skilled Workers, IHK Nuremberg, Ms. Mercy Kathuku, Project Manager for Skilled Workers for Germany, AHK Kenya, Mr. Festus Mutuse, Director of Labour Migration, State Department for Labour and Skills Development (Kenya) and Ms. Ann Mruche, Deputy Director, Skills and Expertise (Kenya).
Mr. Sammy Waititu, Chief Principal, Kiambu National Polytechnic, Ms. Mary Koigi, Deputy Director, State Department for TVET (Kenya), Ms. Caroline Matemo, Labour Attaché, Kenyan Embassy Berlin, Ms. Caroline Kiambi, Widows Programme (German language training), Ms. Lucy Chebugei, Deputy Director, Finance, Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC) and Ms. Anne Kimani, Foreign Service Officer were also present in the meeting.