Kenya and Saudi Arabia sign agreement to protect Kenyan workers and boost economic cooperation
via Tuko1 min read
Kenya and Saudi Arabia have signed a labor recruitment agreement aimed at enhancing protections for Kenyan workers in the Gulf nation. This agreement, along with three other bilateral accords for investment, trade, and economic cooperation, was concluded during Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi鈥檚 visit to Riyadh. The labor agreement seeks to strengthen safeguards for ethical recruitment, skill recognition, improved working conditions, and the welfare of Kenyans employed in Saudi Arabia. This initiative follows years of complaints from Kenyan domestic workers in the Kingdom regarding physical abuse, unpaid salaries, confiscated travel documents, excessive working hours, sexual harassment, and movement restrictions. Since 2022, 316 Kenyans have died in the Gulf region, with Saudi Arabia accounting for 166 of these deaths. Saudi Arabia hosts over 350,000 Kenyans, making it Kenya鈥檚 largest diaspora community outside the United States and the third-largest source of diaspora remittances. Prime Cabinet Secretary Mudavadi emphasized the commitment to ensuring safe, orderly, regular, and dignified migration arrangements for Kenyans working abroad. The trade memorandum of understanding will promote direct investment, enhance customs cooperation, and facilitate financing for strategic development projects through collaboration between the Saudi Export-Import Bank and the Kenya Development Corporation.
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