Azernews.Az

By Rasana Gasimova

Azerbaijan and Lithuania have signed a cooperation agreement on labor and social security, Trend reported on October 3.

The agreement was signed by Azerbaijani Labor and Social Protection Minister, Sahil Babayev and Lithuanian Minister of Social Security and Labor, Linas Kukuraitis as part of their meeting in Baku held in Dost center under the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of Population.

“Both countries have good experience. We should mutually exchange experiences in employment, social protection, rehabilitation and other spheres,” Sahil Babayev said during the meeting.

He also touched on twinning projects funded by the European Union in support of the state employment service. Azerbaijan has completed the implementation of these projects.

The Minister mentioned the importance of DOST centers, saying that the activities of these centers will be aimed at providing services to 2.8 million citizens of the country.

"Today, DOST centers render social services to 400-450 citizens on average per day. The results of surveys among the country's population showed that over 95 percent of citizens were satisfied with the services of the centers," he added.

In his turn, Linas Kukuraitis said that Lithuania and Azerbaijan have great potential for cooperation in the field of social security and labor.

“Reforms carried out in Azerbaijan had a positive impact on the social services sector. Social security system automation, as well as the development and implementation of the DOST concept, are real success indicators of the country’s state policy, "said Kukuraitis.

Lithuanian Minister stressed that the agreement signed between the two countries opens up new opportunities for effective cooperation in different segments of the social sphere, and for the exchange of experience in this priority area.

Babayev mentioned that Lithuanian delegation will take part in the conference that will be held on October 4 to mark the completion of the project. The detailed information about the work carried out in the social security sphere under the scope of the project will be given and future plans on experience exchange in this sphere will be discussed on the conference.

Note that the DOST centers are created to provide a significant part of state social services (labor and employment, types of social security, pensions, social insurance and other services) through operational simplified procedures.

The first DOST center under the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of Population was opened in May 2019 in Yasamal district, Baku.

The citizens will be provided with 126 services in the fields of employment, labor, disability and social protection based on a single-window principle.

It is planned to create 31 DOST centers in Baku and the regions, five of them in Baku, two in Sumgayit and Ganja, the rest in other regions of the country in 2019-2025.