Europe

State Secretary Fahimi welcomes Ambassador of the Republic of Azerbaijan during his inaugural visit

On 14 December 2016, State Secretary Yasmin Fahimi welcomed Ramin Hasanov, Ambassador of Azerbaijan, to the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs for his first official visit.

The Ambassador stressed his country's interest in bilateral cooperation with Germany and in moving closer to the European Union. He suggested an exchange of expertise between Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Labour and Social Protection and Germany’s Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, for example on labour market policy and labour and collective bargaining legislation as well as occupational health and safety.

State Secretary Fahimi asked Ambassador Hasanov for concrete suggestions for topics for a bilateral exchange in the area of labour and social affairs at the Ministry level. She underlined in particular the importance of the social dialogue between trade unions and employers in Germany with regard to the negotiation of conditions of employment, in addition to being the basis for the economic success of German companies, adding that the social partnership between labour and management makes a significant contribution to safeguarding jobs and ensuring social harmony, especially in times of crisis. She also pointed out that, in addition to government-level exchanges, the activities in Azerbaijan of political foundations and non-governmental organisations from the Member States of the European Union could give an important boost towards bringing the country closer to the EU’s fundamental values.

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