Azerbaijan, Baku, May 31 / Trend U.Ismayilova /
Azerbaijan has achieved a rapid economic development over the past six years, Azerbaijani Labor and Social Protection Minister Fizuli Alakbarov said at a meeting with German Parliamentary State Secretary of Federal Ministry Ralf Brauksiepe, who is on visit to Baku.
"According to World Bank, starting from 2003, 2.5 million people moved from the level of population living below the poverty line, to the category of persons of with average supply, which accounting for 30 percent of the total population," Alakbarov said.
The state has heavily invested in the development of education, health care and in the area of youth health. During the past six years, the country built 1,800 schools from 5,000 operating in the country and 40 percent of the total number of existing health facilities.
The State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ) allocates 10 million euros for the education of children from poor families abroad annually. Alakbarov said 850,000 new jobs, 79 percent of which -in the regions of the country, was opened in the past six years. Some 80 percent of new jobs were provided by the private sector.
He said the ministry's main objective is to reduce poverty through active methods - by increasing employment and reducing unemployment.
Brauksiepe said the German government praises active integration of Azerbaijan into European countries, and "we look forward to a successful exchange of experience and positive results with Azerbaijan in the social sphere".
"Germany is likely to take all measures for the further successful development of relations between the two countries," he said. "Employment and social protection of the population plays an important role in the overall development of the country's economy."
The global crisis showed the presence of weaknesses, which should continue to develop, Brauksiepe said. It is important to deepen the cooperation between the countries of the world in the social sphere in the context of globalization, he added.
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