- He stated that delivery on the targets will be a measure of renewal of the contracts of the diplomats.
- The DP said the government is looking into how to safeguard their investments in Kenya in a bid to encourage more remittances.
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Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has said ambassadors and heads of Kenyan missions abroad will be required to sign two-year performance targets.
Speaking when he engaged Kenyans living in Rome, Italy, Gachagua said their main duties will involve promoting the country's key products.
The officials, he stated, will be expected to submit monthly reports showing who they have met to market the products and what deals they had entered into.
"We will soon meet with all our ambassadors, high commissioners and their deputies and they will sign a two-year Memorandum of Understanding committing to these targets," he said.
He stated that delivery on the targets will be a measure of renewal of the contracts of the diplomats.
"All these ambassadors are going to market Kenyan products and hold frequent discussions with the host country on how to get the best deals for our products," said Gachagua.
Gachagua said the taxpayer must benefit from the investment in running these missions, adding that promoting tea, coffee, horticultural crops and other produce will increase the country’s foreign exchange.
The performance targets will be based on an assessment of the market needs of the foreign mission, he said, adding that economic diplomacy is the new way of operations under the Ruto Administration.
"We want to move away from the traditional diplomacy of attending meetings, cocktails, barbecues and such.
Seventy percent of their work will be to pursue commercial interests of our country, to market our agricultural produce, to make sure our exporters get the best deals," the Deputy President said.
Gachagua also challenged the Kenyans in Italy to work closely with the State Department for Diaspora Affairs saying it has been specifically formed to handle their issues.
"The diaspora is critical in our economic development. Their remittances are now our number one source of foreign exchange earners ahead of tourism, coffee and tea. That's why we want to engage the diaspora further," he said.
Gachagua said the government is looking into how to safeguard their investments in Kenya in a bid to encourage more remittances.
"We are looking at how the government can guarantee their investments back home. Many of them have been conned and swindled of their hard-earned money, but we want to create a Diaspora Fund guaranteed by the government so that as they come home their savings are intact," he stated.
Issues raised by the Kenyans included requests for faster renewal of expired passports, the need for better working relations with the embassy and the State Department for Diaspora Affairs and connection to job opportunities.