The health authorities of South Korea, Japan, and China have decided to strengthen cooperation on the prevention and response to infectious diseases.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare stated that Vice Minister Park Min-soo attended the 17th Korea-Japan-China Health Ministers' Meeting held in Tokyo, Japan, to discuss ways to enhance cooperation in the health care sector with the chief representatives of Japan and China. The Korea-Japan-China Health Ministers' Meeting has been held annually in rotation since 2007 to discuss joint responses to infectious diseases and health care policy issues.
This meeting was conducted under three main topics: ▲ Strengthening public health through prevention, preparedness, and response to pandemics, ▲ Healthy aging, ▲ Establishing a sustainable health system to achieve universal health coverage.
The representatives of the three countries adopted a joint statement of intent, "Joint Statement of the Three Countries' Health Ministers' Meeting," and revised and signed cooperation agreements and a joint action plan. Accordingly, they will strengthen cooperation among relevant agencies to secure public health safety, and specify bilateral and multilateral cooperation to promote healthy aging and achieve universal health coverage.
On this day, Vice Minister Park, Takama Fukuoka, Japan's Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare, and Lei Haichao, head of China's National Health Commission, shared policy experiences from their respective countries to respond to global health crises such as new infectious disease threats and population aging. They also agreed to strengthen multi-layered cooperation to secure health security in the Asia-Pacific region.
Vice Minister Park held bilateral talks with representatives from the chairing country Japan, China, and the World Health Organization's Regional Office for the Western Pacific (WPRO) to discuss current health issues and cooperation strategies. Meanwhile, the 18th Korea-Japan-China Health Ministers' Meeting is scheduled to be held in South Korea in the second half of next year.