Azerbaijan, Baku, May 1 / Trend U.Ismayilova /
Implementation of the joint Social Protection Development Project for Azerbaijan of World Bank (WB) will start by June, Azerbaijani Labor and Social Protection Ministry's International Cooperation Department Head Elnur Sultanov said.
"Currently, the process of selection of international consultants in under completion," Sultanov said.
He said the ministry has already selected consultants for professional training (a Swiss company), in the direction of strengthening the capacity of the labor market (British company) and the process of selecting a consultant for the development of professional standards is close to the end. The selection for this component is held among the two companies from the U.S. and the UK.
The Azerbaijani government and WB signed the agreement on this project worth $54.6 million in November 2008. WB will allocate a loan worth $26.7 million under the International Development Association (for 35 years with grace period of 10 years and 0.75 per cent per annum) to finance the project. The project will last five years.
The objective of the Social Protection Development Project for Azerbaijan is to improve delivery of labor market and social protection interventions through strengthened institutions, enhanced institutional and human resources capacity, and improved targeting of social safety net programs. There are four components to the project: a complete modernization of the labor market, including the improvement of labor laws, labor protection system, work of employment services and policy-welfare system, and modernization of the pension system and project management.
WB has already financed one project IN the social sector. Pension Reforms and Welfare Project, to which the bank allocated $10 million, has being implemented since 2005.
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