Today, on the sidelines of the Second Mass Gathering Medicine Conference, organized by the Ministry of Health (MOH) in Riyadh, His Excellency the Minister of Health, Dr. Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al-Rabeeah, signed two executive memoranda of understanding with His Excellency the South-Korean Minister of Health and Welfare, Dr. Chin Young. These memoranda come within the framework of the Cooperation Agreement signed between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Republic of South Korea in February 2012, covering the domains of health information technology, and training of both parties' physicians.
The first memorandum, signed with King Fahad Medical City (KFMC), has to do with strengthening bilateral cooperation in the field of health information technology. Whereas the second memorandum is centered upon the training of Saudi physicians at five specialist hospitals in critical medical and surgical majors.
In a press statement following his signing of the two aforementioned memoranda, Dr. al-Rabeeah said that this step “comes within the framework of the agreement formerly signed between Saudi Arabia and South Korea with the aim of strengthening cooperation between the two countries.”
“It is no secret that there is a strong bond between the two countries that covers various fields, most notably the health field,” Dr. al-Rabeeah added. “Visions of the two countries' ministries of health are characterized by somewhat conformity in terms of all the issues and areas of action that would boost the join medical cooperation.”
Dr. al-Rabeeah lauded the level of medical services provided in South Korea, and wished that this memorandum would enhance confidence between the two ministries, such that pushes forward bilateral relations towards greater integration in the health domain, with particular emphasis on such aspects of cooperation as medical research, medical cities, information technology, transfer of medical technology and industry, and training of physicians.
According to Dr. al-Rabeeah, today's agreement with the Korean Minister of Health represents the first fruit of this memorandum: medical crews, specialized in neurosurgery, shall be assigned to exchange performing surgeries in both Saudi Arabia and South Korea, in cooperation with KFMC, representing the Saudi party, and a Korean advanced medical center.
It did not escape Dr. al-Rabeeah's notice to commend the substantial medical roles assumed by medical cities, and called upon Korean companies to invest in the construction of medical cities in the Kingdom.
For his part, the Korean Minister of Health expressed his appreciation for the persistent bilateral relations between Saudi Arabia and South Korea in all fields, of which the health field stands out as the first and foremost aspect of cooperation. “We are impressed by the Saudi experience in mass gathering medicine, which has been reviewed during the Mass Gathering Medicine Conference, currently held in Riyadh,” said the minister.
He went on to say, “Signing an executive memorandum of understanding with the Saudi Ministry of Health poses a new experience for the Korean Ministry of Health; what adds much to its significance. Our visions and opinions are largely concordant with those of the Saudi party, and this maximizes the potentials of successful joint health cooperation.”
“Truth to tell,” the Korean Minister of health continued, “Korea witnesses a lack of expertise and experiences in mass gathering and human agglomeration medicine. That is why we, through this conference, look forward to taking a closer look at the Saudi experience in this domain. It is a issue of pivotal importance for Korea, especially when taking into account that we organize large cultural and sporting events attended by big human agglomerations.”
As regards his impression of the medical services provided in the Kingdom, the Korean Minister of Health mentioned that he paid a visit to King Fahad Medical City, during which he got to take a closer look at the medical services it provides. “Actually,” he said, “I am impressed by the momentous development that covers all aspects of medical technology here. This absolutely foreshadows optimistic strides towards ambitious development of the Saudi medical services, especially in cardiology, neurology and oncology.”
Concluding his statement, the Korean Minister of Health made clear that KFMC plays a substantial, pioneering role in promoting health cooperation between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Republic of South Korea, and that his country, by means of the two memoranda of understanding, places a particular emphasis on boosting cooperation in applied research between the two countries.