Vietnam and Israel deepen ties in social insurance and welfare

Minister of Finance Nguyen Van Thang hosted a working session with a delegation from Israel’s Ministry of Labour, led by Minister Rabbi Yoav Ben Tzur, in Hanoi on May 20.

The meeting aimed to explore initiatives to enhance bilateral social insurance and welfare cooperation.

Minister Thang said, "Israel and Vietnam have witnessed positive outcomes in various areas, particularly since the Vietnam-Israel Free Trade Agreement (VIFTA) took effect last November, which was the first FTA Vietnam has had with a Middle Eastern nation."

Overview of the meeting between Minister Nguyen Van Thang and Minister Rabbi Yoav Ben Tzur

Thang proposed expanding collaboration into labour, insurance, and social welfare sectors as a solid foundation for elevating the bilateral relationship to a more substantive and profound level.

During the session, Minister Thang provided an overview of Vietnam’s social insurance system, including its organisational structure, related policies, and the outcomes of restructuring the system into a specialised unit under the Ministry of Finance (MoF). He also briefed on the management and investment of related funds.

Regarding future development, Minister Thang said, "Vietnam aims to build a professional and modern social insurance system, expedite digital transformation, and integrate insurance data with national population data to enhance service efficiency."

In the spirit of friendly cooperation, the MoF chief suggested several areas for collaboration between the two countries in social insurance and welfare, such as sharing experiences in developing and refining social insurance policies, particularly for an ageing population; tailoring expert exchange initiatives, technical training, and knowledge transfer.

Minister Thang also suggested collaborating to promote digital transformation and the application of technology in insurance management, and exploring the possibility of signing an MoU between specialised agencies of both countries in this field.

Minister Nguyen Van Thang and Minister Rabbi Yoav Ben Tzur taking a commemorative photo at the meeting

Minister Tzur expressed honour in visiting MoF, commended Vietnam’s economic development in recent years, noting the significant role of the MoF.

He thanked Minister Thang for the positive assessments of the Vietnam-Israel relationship and the comprehensive information on Vietnam’s social insurance system, a well as revealing a desire to strengthen practical cooperation between the two countries in social insurance and welfare.

Concluding the session, Minister Thang said, "As Vietnam-Israel relations continue to grow, expanding cooperation into social welfare will reinforce the comprehensive partnership between the two countries. The MoF’s specialised agencies and the Vietnam Social Insurance system are poised to collaborate with Israel to further technical exchanges, share policies, and step by step deploy specific and effective cooperative models."

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