EU always ready to render Azerbaijan financial and partner assistance

The significance of the EU twinning projects is that they envisage the result and general responsibility for it, the head of the EU delegation in Azerbaijan Roland Kobia said within the international conference on "The control system of safety and occupational hygiene: the ways of continuous improvement" in Baku.

The conference gave an official start to the joint EU twinning project "Support to the National Labour Inspection Service in the direction of improving occupational health and safety".

The European Union assisted the Service for Occupational Health and Labor Protection under the Azerbaijani Ministry of Labor and Social Protection and the State Labour Inspection service within the project.

EU allocates one million manat to implement the project.

"All that will be achieved within the project will remain in the relevant ministry," he said. "This is an important aspect in this kind of project".

He said that the main aim of the project is to create a mechanism for strengthening bilateral cooperation. EU seeks to an effective political dialogue, effective trade and support for reforms in this cooperation with Azerbaijan.

The project, covering a year and a half, will be implemented by the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare of Germany together with the Ministry of Labour, Family and Health of the Federal State of Hesse.

"The EU is interested in exchanging the experience," he said. "It is important that Germany will lead the project and share the experience with Azerbaijan in the sphere of labor protection, as this area in Germany is at a high level".

He said that Holland will also contribute to the development of the project.

This is not the first current project on improving the Azerbaijani legislation in the sphere of social protection that the EU implements jointly with the Azerbaijani Ministry of Labor and Social Protection.

There is also a similar project with the World Bank.

"Azerbaijan has its own methods, rules of work and we respect them," he said.

The Azerbaijani President signed a decree on establishment of the state inspectorate for monitoring compliance with labor conditions in February this year. Therefore, the beginning of this project is in the nick of time. The state inspection institution is an important organization, which is designed to monitor the implementation of certain procedures.

"Azerbaijan can always rely on the EU not only as a source of funding for the project, but also as a partner, always ready to render any assistance in implementing the project," he said.


/Trend/