Author: Tatyana Gracheva
The Pension Insurance Law New changes
The new changes to the Pension insurance law will give professional soldiers the right to retire under the same conditions as officers and non-commissioned officers. Also, additional years of service will help pensioners increase their pensions. Moreover, new rights will appear for farmers.
According to amendments to the Law on Pension and Disability Insurance, professional contract soldiers will get an old-age pension after completing 40 years of pensionable service and reaching at least 53 years of age. It will bring their status into line with that of other members of the professional armed forces.
Also, new amendments will include the right to attendance allowance and care assistance into the insured risks covered by the pension and disability insurance system for the first time.
As for pensioners who continue working after retirement, recipients of old-age and early retirement pensions who accumulate at least one additional year of pensionable service after retiring will be able to apply for a recalculation of their pension.
A new, more favorable pension amount, will be calculated by the Pension and Disability Insurance Fund (PIO Fund) in such cases. The additional period of service completed will be the basis of this new pension amount.
Farmers will be also affected by some amendments. For example, holders of family agricultural holdings who pay income tax on self-employed activities or value-added tax (VAT) will get mandatory insurance coverage in the future.
However, there will be the possibility of suspending insured status in cases of natural disasters, illness or maternity leave.
New categories of insured persons are also in the draft law. They are employees working for foreign employers that do not have a registered representative office in Serbia. The condition is application of Serbian regulations to them in accordance with the rules governing the coordination of social security systems.
According to the proposed amendments, people acquire old-age and early retirement pensions only after insurance coverage has ceased. Nevertheless, there are certain exceptions for specific categories of insured persons and individuals. Their most recent insurance coverage should be in countries with which Serbia has concluded social security agreements.
Reimbursement of funeral expenses is also among the changes. According to the proposal, persons who bear the costs of burying beneficiaries of certain disability-related benefits and residual work-capacity benefits will get it.
They expect most provisions of the law to enter into force on the eighth day following publication in the Republic of Serbia’s Official Gazette. Nevertheless, it will be possible to apply for provisions relating to harmonization with European Union rules only after Serbia joins the EU.
Source Link
Read moreNew changes to the Pension Insurance Law
Professional soldiers will gain the right to retire under the same conditions as officers and non-commissioned officers, pensioners will have the opportunity to increase their pensions through additional years of service, and new rights will be introduced for farmers. Professional soldiers serving under contract could soon become entitled to an old-age pension under the same […]
Read moreKazakhstan’s unemployment rate falls to 4.5%
Kazakhstan’s unemployment rate remained at a safe level, falling to 4.5%, while the availability of around 100,000 job vacancies reflects continued demand for workers, Qazinform News Agency quotes First Vice Minister of Labor and Social Protection of the Population Yerbol Tuyakbayev as saying. According to Tuyakbayev, claims circulating on social media about widespread unemployment do […]
Read moreCooperation with the Israeli Business Community: Preparations in Georgia for the Jerusalem Business Forum
Economic cooperation between Georgia and Israel is gaining new momentum. The first stage of preparations has been completed as part of the official visit of Dr. Akram Hasson, a member of the Israeli Knesset, one of whose key objectives was the organization of the upcoming Georgia-Israel Business Forum in Jerusalem. Israeli House NET hosted a […]
Read moreThe work of the Intergovernmental Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation between Kyrgyzstan and Georgia is resumed after a ten-year hiatus
The second meeting of the Kyrgyz-Georgian Intergovernmental Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation took place at the Ministry of Economy and Commerce of the Kyrgyz Republic in Bishkek. It marked the resumption of the Commission’s activities after a ten-year hiatus.
Also, Georgia’s Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture David Songulashvili attended the meeting.
Bakyt Sydykov, Minister of Economy and Commerce of the Kyrgyz Republic, and Mariam Kvrivishvili, Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia co-chaired the Commission.
The considerable potential for cooperation between Kyrgyzstan and Georgia in the fields of trade and economic relations, investment, transport and logistics, tourism, agriculture, and cultural and humanitarian exchanges were the main topics of the meeting.
Particularly, Bakyt Sydykov highlighted Kyrgyzstan’s consistent policy aimed at economic modernization, improving the investment climate, and supporting entrepreneurship. Preliminary results show the country’s economic growth by over 11 percent in 2025. Meanwhile, growth for the first four months of 2026 reached 12.4 percent.
The Minister specified that improvements in tax and customs administration, the digitalization of public services, the reduction of the shadow economy, and stronger public-private partnerships made these achievements possible.
Georgia’s economic growth by 7.5 percent in 2025 created additional opportunities for expanding bilateral trade and investment cooperation.
Mariam Kvrivishvili highlighted that Georgia is an important transport and logistics bridge between Europe and Asia due to its strategic geographic location. It also connects the Middle East, South Asia, the Caucasus, and Central Asia.
As she emphasizes, the development of transport and logistics infrastructure is particularly important.
Another key driver of the country’s economic growth is tourism. It brought a record amount of around USD 4.7 billion in 2025. Nearly 7.8 million visitors from different countries came to Georgia, including Kyrgyzstan.
According to the participants, the Intergovernmental Commission is an important mechanism for advancing joint initiatives and ensuring the practical implementation of agreements between the two countries. The sides signed agreements in the areas of investment, avoidance of double taxation, education, and statistics following the first meeting of the Commission. Moreover, they successfully carried out a number of joint activities and reciprocal visits.
Also, the current state and future prospects of cooperation in foreign policy, trade, investment, agriculture, transport, logistics, and other areas of mutual interest were discussed by the representatives of relevant ministries and government agencies from both countries during the meeting.
Also, discussions on cooperation in information and communication technologies, environmental protection, education, culture, communications, labor, and employment were in the agenda.
Finally, they signed the Protocol of the Second Meeting of the Kyrgyz-Georgian Intergovernmental Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation.
Source Link
Read moreMigrant Workers in Ukraine: How Many Are There, Really, and Why Is It Cheaper to Retrain Ukrainians?
In Ukraine, the issue of hiring foreign workers sparks considerable debate, yet the actual scale of labor migration remains minimal. The Ministry of Economy compared the costs of hiring a migrant worker versus retraining a Ukrainian worker and cited specific data from a survey of employers. Learn more about the situation regarding labor migrants in […]
Read moreSerbia preparing Artificial Intelligence Law
Serbia could soon adopt its first Artificial Intelligence Law, which will be largely aligned with the European Union’s AI Act, the most comprehensive artificial intelligence legislation in the world. The plan is for the new law to introduce clear rules for the development and use of AI, particularly in higher-risk areas such as healthcare, education, […]
Read moreChina, Mongolia Dominate Foreign Migration to Kazakhstan in 2026
China and Mongolia accounted for the vast majority of arrivals from non-CIS countries to Astana, Kazakhstan during the first quarter of 2026, underscoring the growing role of regional economic and educational ties in shaping migration trends. According to official data, 394 people from countries outside the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) moved to Kazakhstan’s capital […]
Read moreOn a Mission to Accelerate Regional Transformation: Global Tech Weekend Tbilisi Returns on June 19-21
This summer, Georgia will host a wide range of technology, cultural, educational, and business events. Global Tech Weekend Tbilisi 2026 stands out as the platform where all of these worlds intersect. Returning for its biggest edition yet, the region’s leading technology movement is expected to welcome more than 20,000 international attendees across three days. From […]
Read moreThe EBRD and EU are increasing their business support program in Ukraine by €2B.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, with funding from the European Union, is boosting its aid for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Ukraine, allowing them to secure €2B in new funding via EBRD partner banks. This additional EU assistance is part of the Ukraine Investment Framework and includes €200M in guarantees, €105M in […]
Read more