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CNN reports that (according to Kenyan authorities) Berlin agreed to give working permits to "up to" 250,000 "skilled and semi-skilled Kenyan workers".

Why Kenya, specifically?

(N.B. The piece does mention that "The German Interior Ministry adds that it is in confidential talks with several other countries regarding migration agreements." However this isn't terribly clear what it means. As CNN relates it though, the German ministry was more keen to emphasize that the deal [with Kenya] will also allow Germany to "consistently enforce the repatriation of people without a right to remain".)

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Germany is not looking at Kenya specifically. Germany is signing treaties on labor migration with many different countries. Migration treaties exist or are being negotiated with Brazil, Colombia, Ghana, India, Moldova, Morocco, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam. The goal is twofold:

  • Make up for the "demographic problem" (not enough children for a stable population) with controlled, structured immigration. Skilled workers who come in having a job lined up, perhaps having learned the language, etc.
  • Reward and encourage countries which try to restrict the uncontrolled, unstructured migration of their citizens and others passing through.
    Many countries in the 'Global South' are heavily dependent on remittances from their expatriates. This gives them an enticement to delay the repatriation of their citizens when a country in the 'Global North' wants to deport them. So the deal is that these countries take back undocumented immigrants and send documented immigrants instead.

A significant number of legal immigrants come from other EU countries, which requires no permits.

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    Not restrict migration, but facilitate deportations of "irregular entrants" back to Kenia. See the news release by Olaf Scholz: "Die beiden Staaten haben ein Migrationsabkommen vereinbart, das das Anwerben von Fachkräften erleichtern soll, aber auch die Rückführung irregulär Eingereister. "
    – ccprog
    Commented Sep 16 at 16:02
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    @ccprog, one of the key problems with German (and EU) migration policy is that it is traffickers and not visa officials who select who gets in. The treaty is trying to reduce that.
    – o.m.
    Commented Sep 16 at 16:06
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    @ItalianPhilosopher, most of the Gastarbeiter generation have permanent residency but not citizenship, because until the most recent reforms they would have had to abandon their old citizenship for naturalization in Germany. With employment, immigrants can apply for German citizenship after five years of temporary residency. There would be language tests, etc.
    – o.m.
    Commented Sep 16 at 18:22
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    @o.m. Fair enough. I did not realize dual nationalities had different rules for different groups (but I did know Turks have historically been critical of GastArbeiter arrangements)
    – Italian Philosopher
    Commented 2 days ago
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    @ItalianPhilosopher, historically Germany was against dual nationalities. But for EU citizens that rule was weakened sooner than for others.
    – o.m.
    Commented 2 days ago
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A few remarks that amend o.m.'s good answer.

  • The number of up to 250.000 workers that Kenyan President Ruto named has been disclaimed. According to the German Ministry of Interior

    Das Migrationsabkommen zwischen Deutschland und Kenia enthält keinerlei Zahlen oder Kontingente von Fachkräften aus Kenia, die in Deutschland arbeiten könnten. Alle Bewerber müssen die Kriterien des Fachkräfteeinwanderungsgesetzes erfüllen.

    The migration agreement between Germany and Kenya does not contain any numbers or quotas of skilled workers from Kenya who could work in Germany. All applicants must fulfil the criteria of the Skilled Immigration Act.

  • Since 2023, the German Federal government has installed a Sonderbevollmächtigter für Migrationsabkommen (Special Commissioner for Migration Agreements) in the Ministry of Interior (BMI). The BMI lists the current migration agreements here.

  • In June 2024, the comissioner had to answer some questions about his work by members of parliament of the Left party. The strategic thoughts behind his work are probably along the lines of an advisory paper the Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik published last year.

  • The text of the Kenya agreement seems not to be available to the public. The most detailed (well, least obscure) first party report of its content is probably this press release by the BMI.

I confess that I was unable to navigate the pages of the Kenyan government. The best I could find was a notice by the African Union Development Agency that at least named who is negotiating on the Kenyan side: the State Department for Diaspora Affairs

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