Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has revealed that all ambassadors will be assessed on a monthly basis based on their efforts to ensure the country's business profile improves globally.
Speaking at a hotel in Rome, Italy, the DP confirmed that the government's representatives would be expected to submit monthly reports showing who they have met to market Kenyan products and what deals they had entered into during the stipulated period.
He added that the ambassadors will be properly briefed to realign their strategies on the most convenient ways of breaching the international market.
"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," he stated.
"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."
The DP pointed out that the Kenya Kwanza administration was reviewing the roles of the envoys so that 70 percent of their work would be based on promoting tea, coffee, and horticultural products among others.
"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 the commercial interests of our country, to market our agricultural produce, to make sure our exporters get the best deals," he added.
The Deputy President, who is on a three-day tour in Italy for the United Nations Food Summit, challenged Kenyans residing in the country to work closely with the State Department for Diaspora Affairs to handle their issues.
He emphasised the importance of diaspora remittances as a vital part of foreign exchange earner in the country ahead of coffee, tourism and tea.
Data by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) revealed that Kenyans in Diaspora remitted a total of Ksh287.7 billion in six months to June 2023.
During his speech, Gachagua pointed out that the government is looking into ways of safeguarding the investments of Kenyans residing in the diaspora.
"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.
