08 February 2022 11:26

The representatives of Social Security Institution of the Republic of Turkey are visiting Azerbaijan

The delegation led by the President of the Social Security Institution (SGK) of the Republic of Türkiye Cevdet Ceylan arrived on a working visit to Azerbaijan.

On February 8, Zaur Aliyev, Chairman of the Executive Board of the State Agency on Mandatory Health Insurance (Agency) held a meeting with a delegation led by Cevdet Ceylan, President of the SGK and Mr. Cahit Bagci, Ambassador of the Republic of Türkiye to Azerbaijan.

The delegation consists of Gokhan Tuna Ozturk, Head of Directorate General for Universal Health Insurance of SGK, Eyup Sabri Tezcan, head of the Department for Service Delivery of Directorate General, social protection experts Tolga Bal and Yusuf Demirci.

Zaur Aliyev expressed his delight at seeing the guests in Azerbaijan and added that cooperation between the two brotherly countries covers all areas, including health and medicine. “The brotherly country has always made a great contribution to the training of medical professionals in various specialties and to increasing their skills and knowledge. This, of course, along with the development of health care, plays an important role in further strengthening relations between the two brotherly countries.”

The Chairman of the Executive Board said that the Memorandum of Understanding signed last year is important for the further development of relations between the two institutions. He expressed readiness to provide all possible support to the delegation for a productive working visit and wished them success in their work.

Cevdet Ceylan expressed his gratitude for the cordial welcome and spoke about the actions taken to protect the public health in the Republic of Türkiye: “We ensure that universal health insurance, which we have been introducing since 2012, provides all members of society with a comprehensive, fair and equitable access to healthcare services, regardless of their economic status and willingness. As a result of this, 99% of Türkiye’s population is covered under universal health insurance.” C.Ceylan added that he is pleased to be able to share his countries 10 years of experience in the given sector with the brotherly country.

It should be noted that this year's topic of the 3-year Action Plan signed under the Memorandum of Understanding is "Financing of mandatory health insurance and the application of information technology." During the visit, which will last till February 10, the delegation will be provided with information on the existing legal framework, actuarial balances of institutions, determination of insurance premiums, the application of incentives. The proposals will be prepared to improve the application of mandatory health insurance based on the Turkey’s experience as part of the measures taken to implement the Action Plan.