Korea and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) regulatory authorities agreed to build a comprehensive, strategic cooperation framework in biohealth and to strengthen cooperation to boost trade in pharmaceuticals, medical devices, cosmetics, and more between the two countries.
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said on the 19th that it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the UAE medical products regulatory authority (Emirates Drug Establishment, EDE) for comprehensive cooperation in the biohealth sector.
Launched in September 2023, the UAE EDE is the authority responsible for regulations such as authorization and safety management of pharmaceuticals, medical devices, cosmetics, and health supplements in the UAE.
The signing of this MOU is a follow-up to a bilateral meeting between Food and Drug Safety Minister Oh Yu-kyoung and Saeed bin Mubarak Al Hajeri, chair of the UAE EDE board, and took place on the 18th in the presence of President Lee Jae-myung and UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan during their summit.
Under the MOU, the parties agreed to hold joint seminars, workshops, and training programs in the biohealth field; exchange regulatory information, scientific data, and best practices; encourage expert exchanges; pursue regulatory innovation, digital transformation, and safety-related joint research; and support the development of joint cooperation projects for new technologies. The ministry noted, "To ensure concrete implementation, we agreed to establish a cooperation framework including a joint working group and high-level and agency head meetings."
In particular, they agreed to strengthen cooperation in innovative technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and bio, as well as in cosmetics, a key export item. A ministry official said, "Building a cooperation framework for the cosmetics sector through this MOU is a significant achievement." Fueled by the K-beauty boom, exports of Korean cosmetics to the UAE surged over the past three years from $58 million in 2022 to $171 million in 2024.
According to the ministry, Oh Yu-kyoung, the head of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety visiting the UAE, met with Fatima Al Kaabi, director general of the UAE EDE, to share interests in AI and advanced bio fields and discussed detailed cooperation measures for advancing biohealth in both countries and for the rapid authorization of Korean medical products in the UAE.
She then visited the Abu Dhabi Stem Cells Center (ADSCC) and met with CEO Yendry Ventura for a roundtable to share outlooks and results in advanced bio research and technology between the two countries, and also observed on-site research and development of cell and gene therapy products in the UAE.
Afterward, she visited the UAE office of the Korea Health Industry Development Institute to hear opinions on the status of Middle East exports in the medical products and cosmetics sectors and on difficulties faced by our corporations, and agreed to build a system for close cooperation and swift response in the event of issues related to food and drug exports.
The ministry said, "With this MOU as a starting point, we plan to innovate the biohealth regulatory system and the system that supports global expansion, strengthen our international standing, and actively support outstanding K-medical products and cosmetics so they can advance vigorously into overseas markets."