The Republic of Moldova is set to sign Social Security Agreements with the province of Quebec in Canada, Albania, Croatia and Ireland. At present, our country has such agreements signed with 23 states where about 870,000 Moldovan citizens reside. Minister of Labour and Social Protection Natalia Plugaru unveiled the data in Parliament during the examination of the simple motion initiated by the parliamentary opposition.
According to the official, the agreements establish a fair framework for guaranteeing social rights for people who have worked or are legally working abroad. Based on them, citizens will be able to receive old-age pensions, disability pensions caused by general illness, disability pensions and allowances resulting from work accidents or occupational diseases, as well as survivor’s pensions.
“Step by step, the Republic of Moldova is strengthening its efforts to expand the number of bilateral agreements in the social security. These agreements show that we care about the diaspora. We care about people who work or have worked abroad, so that their contribution years, regardless of the country in which they were accumulated, are recognized and allow them to receive pensions. We will soon sign such an agreement with Quebec, where around 15,000 Moldovan citizens live. In parallel, we are continuing negotiations with Albania, Croatia and Ireland. We will keep building an increasingly comprehensive social protection system, for the benefit of citizens,” said Natalia Plugaru.
Currently, the Republic of Moldova has 23 Social Security Agreements signed, of which 18 are already in force. In recent years, the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection has concluded social agreements with Slovakia, Italy, Greece, Spain, Latvia, France, Switzerland, Canada and Ukraine.