Saudi Arabia and Kenya to conclude labour agreement to stem abuses of domestic workers

Saudi Embassy in Nairobi Charge D’Affaires Abdullah Masoud Al Qahtani

Kenya and Saudi Arabia are set to conclude a labour agreement to guide the recruitment of Kenyan domestic workers to the oil-rich kingdom in a bid to stem abuses reported in the recent past.

Kenya’s Ministry of Labour and its Saudi counterpart are said to be in the final stages of concluding the agreement that has been in the pipeline for several years.

This news emerged during the commemoration of the national day of Saudi Arabia on Friday night at the Villa Rosa Kempinsky.

“There are currently about 40,000 Kenyans working in Saudi Arabia. This undoubtedly presents challenges to our two governments in terms of providing consular services and  managing work-related disputes between the employers and employees,” said Alex Muiru, MP for Tharaka Nithi constituency who represented the Kenya government.

“These disputes have attracted wide and sometimes negative attention in the local and international media thus denting the image of the two governments. A mutually-beneficial  agreement to guide the recruitment of workers would be most welcome, ” he added.

Mr. Muiru said the  billions of shillings in remittances sent home annually  by Kenyans working in Saudi Arabia is significantly boosting Kenya’s economy and helping many Kenyan families live decent lives.

On his part, the Saudi Arabia Embassy in Nairobi Charge D’Affaires  Abdallah Masoud Al Qahtani said Kenya is one of the most important economic and political partners in the Eastern Africa region while Saudi Arabia is one of the ten most important trading partners for Kenya.

“Saudi Arabia is the destination for seekers of jobs, businesses and religious worshippers from Kenya while agricultural goods from Kenya are popular among the Saudi business community,” he said.

“You hardly find a city in Saudi Arabia that does not stock Kenyan goods especially  tea, coffee, sisal, fruits, flowers and livestock products.”

He indicated that Saudi exports to Kenya have grown steadily to reach Sh550 billion over the last decade, especially oil products, fertilizers, and mineral  products.

 “Saudi Arabia is committed to supporting development in Kenya directly through the Saudi Fund for Development or indirectly through development institutions to which Saudi Arabia contributes such as the Islamic Development Bank, Afro-Arab Bank for Development and the International Monetary Fund,” he said.

Among projects bring funded by the Saudis include the construction of the Kenyatta National Hospital Burns and Paediatric Centre, building the Nunow-Modogashe road in Northern Kenya, Rural Electrification and providing higher education  scholarships to Kenya students.

The envoy said that the Tourism industry  in Kenya is set to benefit from more visitors and investments from Saudi Arabia as more Saudi nationals become more attracted to Kenya.

Mr Muiru also called on the two countries to accelerate cooperation in combating terrorism, youth radicalisation and trans-boundary organised crimes such as  poaching, money laundering, drug and human  trafficking.

He called on Saudi investment companies to invest in Kenya especially in mega infrastructure projects such as the Lamu Port South Sudan Ethiopia Transport (LAPSSET) corridor as well energy and tourism.