Opening ceremony of the EU Twinning project "Support to Pension Reform in Azerbaijan - Phase 2"
On 17 January 2023, the Opening ceremony of the European Union (EU) Twinning Programme project "Support to Pension Reform in Azerbaijan - Phase 2", implemented by the the European Social Fund Agency, Ministry of Social Security and Labour of the Republic of Lithuania, and the State Social Insurance Fund Board under the Ministry of Social Security and Labour, took place in Baku, Azerbaijan. It was attended by about 70 participants from various Azerbaijani public administration institutions, Lithuanian project partners and representatives of the European Social Fund Agency. The project Opening ceremony also attracted a lot of media attention.
The participants of the Opening event were greeted by the Minister of Labour and Social Protection of the Republic of Azerbaijan Sahil Babayev, the Ambassador of the European Union to the Republic of Azerbaijan Peter Michalko, the Ambassador of the Republic of Lithuania to the Republic of Azerbaijan Egidijus Navikas, and the Vice-Minister of the Ministry of Social Protection and Labour of the Republic of Lithuania Martynas Šiurkus.
Emphasizing that the support for pension reforms in Azerbaijan Twinning project is an important support in the ongoing reforms, S. Babayev expressed his confidence that the second phase of the project will also contribute to the improvement of the pension system in his country based on the best practices of Europe. P. Mikhalko, E. Navikas, M. Surkus and other representatives spoke about the importance of the EU-funded twinning project "Support to pension reforms in Azerbaijan - Phase 2", it was emphasized that the project will play its role in the pension reform process.
Among other distinguished guests, the project Opening ceremony was also attended by Ana Selčinskienė, Chancellor of the Ministry of Social Security and Labour of the Republic of Lithuania, project leaders, component leaders and the administrative team of the project from both countries.
The aim of the project is to contribute to the reform of the pension system in Azerbaijan in order to improve the efficiency of the pension system, based on the best practices of Lithuania and other European Union countries. The project will strengthen the legal and institutional frameworks in Azerbaijan to ensure universal coverage, adequacy, financial, fiscal and economic sustainability of the pension system. Particular attention will be paid to the further digitisation of the pension system through the modernisation of data collection, processing, evaluation, control and reporting, as well as the development of new actuarial models and forecasting methods for pension provision.
The Twinning Project on the “Support to pension reform in Azerbaijan – Phase 2”, which started on 2nd of August 2022 and will last for 24 months, is a joint project between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Lithuania, funded by the European Union Twinning Programme.
