Vice Minister of Health and Welfare Bang Mun-kyu wrapped up his five-day visits to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan Saturday, during which he signed cooperative agreements in healthcare field between Korea and the two Central Asian countries.

Vice Minister Bang Mun-kyu (second from right) tours the health examination center at Al-Farabi Kazakh National University in Kazakhstan Thursday.

During a meeting with his Kazak counterpart, Alexey Choi, Bang said, “Kazakhstan has a high potential for growth based on its abundant energy resources, and demand for Korean medical care is also increasing year by year.”

In response, Choi, the first ethnic Korean who became his country’s vice minister of health and social development, said, “We are highly interested in Korea’s excellent healthcare system, and want to actively cooperate with Korea to modernize local business and develop pharmaceuticals and medical technology."

The Korean vice minister suggested establishing a pharmaceutical industry forum, expanding training for medical staff, and creating follow-up methods to care for Kazakhstan patients that have received treatment in Korea.

On Friday, Bang visited Kyrgyzstan and met Minister of Health Talantbek Batyraliev to sign a health cooperation agreement, which would allow the two countries to cooperate in healthcare, including hospital design and construction, operation and management, e-health, and health information system.

Bang suggested the construction and operation of a hospital dealing with infections in the capital city of Bishkek, scheduled to be implemented with a budget of $9 million funded by the Korea External Cooperation Fund.

"I am grateful for the funding provided by Korea’s medical institutions, and hope to expand cooperation in the field of health and medical care, pharmaceuticals, and medical devices," said Minister Batyraliev.

Bang replied saying, “We will expand healthcare cooperation with these countries and solidify the advancement of Korean healthcare industry in the Commonwealth of Independent States.”

yjc@docdocdoc.co.kr

<© Korea Biomedical Review, All rights reserved.>