FAO organized a two days regional consultative workshop on social protection for rural population in the countries of the former Soviet Union.

The  workshop was attended by the officials of the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of the Republic of Azerbaijan and experts from Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Ukraine.

Mr. Ilham Bayramov, Head of the Administration of the Ministry of Agriculture and Mr. Mustafa İmir,FAO Representative to the Republic of Azerbaijan, opened the seminar.

Mr. Ilham Bayramov informed the participants that the Government of Azerbaijani attaches great importance to the agricultural sector and strengthening of the state policies for its development. At the same time, important decisions have been made related to the adoption of social protection measures, relevant to rural population, rural development and food security.

Mr. Mustafa İmir in his opening remarks spoke about the work that FAO implements in member countries in the field of social protection for the rural population. The FAO Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia  initiated the project to build greater knowledge of social security reforms in the countries of the former Soviet Union.