Thailand and Maldives Ink Health Pact to Bolster Primary Care and Regulatory Capacities

Thailand and the Republic of Maldives have formalised a new partnership to enhance public health cooperation, with a key focus on strengthening primary healthcare and regulatory capabilities within the island nation.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed on Tuesday, during the World Health Assembly in Geneva.

Dej-is Khaothong, Thailand's Deputy Minister of Public Health, and Abdulla Nazim Ibrahim, the Maldives' Minister of Health, jointly signed the accord. Dej-is announced the agreement from Geneva today, 21st May 2025.

The MOU outlines a comprehensive framework for collaboration, aiming to:

• Strengthen primary healthcare delivery in the Maldives.
• Bolster the regulatory capacity of the Maldives Food and Drug Authority (FDA).
• Facilitate technical cooperation with health professional training institutions and foster human resource development in healthcare.
• Advance health policy and health system research.
• Promote the exchange of health data and information technology.
• Secure sustainable funding mechanisms for health promotion initiatives.

Further cooperation will be realised through mutual exchanges of experience, data, regulations, experts, and medical science delegations.
 

The agreement also provides for personnel training, academic seminars, workshops, and technical support for health promotion, alongside other mutually agreed forms of collaboration.

Beyond the MOU signing, Dej-is participated in a Ministerial Breakfast Meeting titled "Progressing towards more open and inclusive decision-making for health: Is social participation under threat?".

The discussion provided an opportunity to express political commitment to the importance of social participation, rooted in trust between governments and their citizens.

During his visit, the Deputy Minister also held discussions with high-level international representatives. He met with Saima Wazed, Regional Director for the WHO South-East Asia Region, to discuss international public health cooperation among member states.

Specific areas of focus included strengthening global efforts in non-communicable disease prevention and control, and collaborative disease surveillance along the Thailand-Myanmar border through SEARO.
 

Concurrently, Dej-is engaged with Punya Salila Srivastava, Secretary, Department of Health & Family Welfare, Republic of India, to explore potential health collaborations between the two countries, including traditional and alternative medicine, and universal health coverage.

To ensure tangible outcomes from the MOU, a dedicated working committee will be established. This committee will serve as a mechanism for ongoing discussions and the implementation of planned activities.

The initial cooperation period is set for three years from the date of signing, with automatic renewal for successive three-year terms unless either party provides written notification of termination via diplomatic channels at least three months in advance.