The Kenya Kwanza administration is looking to increase the number of Kenyans working in Qatar to 300,000, from the current 67,000. 

This is according to Cabinet Secretary for Labour and Social Protection, Alfred Mutua, who spoke on Sunday while meeting Qatar Labour Minister Dr. Ali Saeed Samikh Al-Marri.

Mutua said Kenya and Qatar are looking to amend the bilateral agreement signed in 2012 between the two countries, to allow for more Kenyans to travel to the Arab country for work. 

Together with his counterpart, Mutua said among the plans in place is to set up a visa centre in Kenya to avoid delays for those looking for job opportunities Qatar.

"Our aim is to have labourers from all areas including teachers, nurses, artisans, engineers, etc," Mutua said.

Qatar is looking for skilled labour in areas such as ICT, transport and education. 

On his part, Ali Saeed said his country is keen on getting highly skilled labour from Kenya.

"We discussed how to strengthen our relationship. We'll be signing a new memorandum to continue strengthening these relationships and ensuring more Kenyans get opportunities to work in our country," he said. 

President William Ruto has said part of his plans is to open job opportunities for Kenyans to travel out of the country.

Recently, Ruto was in Germany where he signed a labour mobility agreement that will see skilled Kenyans work in Germany. 

Ruto has also sought employment opportunities for Kenyans in Saudi Arabia and other countries.