Azerbaijan, Turkey eye cooperation in social protection sphere
By Ayya Lmahamad
Azerbaijan and Turkey have discussed bilateral cooperation in the labour, employment and social protection fields.
The discussion took place during a meeting between Azerbaijan Labor and Social Protection Minister Sahil Babayev and a delegation led by Turkey’s Savings Insurance Fund Chairman Muhiddin Gulal.
At the meeting, Babayev stressed the importance of joint efforts of the two brotherly countries in the sustainable and long-term development of bilateral relations.
Noting Azerbaijan’s great victory and liberation of its lands from the Armenian occupation, the minister stated that large-scale construction works are already underway on those territories.
Moreover, Babayev briefed the participants of the meeting about the social support measures implemented in Azerbaijan in the post-war period on the Azerbaijani president's instructions. He noted that these measures have already covered more than 20,000 people.
The minister underlined that the programme for providing houses and apartments for martyrs’ families and disabled war veterans had been expanded, noting that other measures had been taken to strengthen the social protection of these categories of citizens. In addition, Babayev noted the social reforms in the country, the DOST concept and the opening of another DOST Centre in Baku.
In turn, Gulal expressed satisfaction with the continuous development of relations between the two countries.
The parties discussed the experience of cooperation in the social sphere, further joint work and cooperation in supporting martyrs’ families in improving their living conditions.
Azerbaijan and Turkey cooperate in various fields of economy. Eleven agreements were signed between the two countries within the Azerbaijani-Turkish business forum held in Ankara on February 18. The agreements envisage the development of Azerbaijani-Turkish cooperation in the economic, trade and other spheres. Moreover, Turkey was one of the first countries that expressed its interest and readiness to participate in the restoration of Azerbaijan’s liberated territories.
Turkey was Azerbaijan's second-largest trading partner in 2020, with a trade turnover of $4.1 billion. The export from Azerbaijan to Turkey amounted to $2.5 billion, while the import from Turkey amounted to $1.5 billion. In addition, the total turnover between the two countries amounted to $541.1 million with the export of $302.6 million and the import of $238.4 million in January-February 2021.
--
Ayya Lmahamad is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @AyyaLmahamad
Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
