Bhutan, Thailand to upgrade cooperation in public health

BANGKOK, July 1 (TNA) - Bhutan and Thailand have agreed to amend a bilateral agreement in public health to upgrade cooperation in the area, with the revised pact expected to be concluded next year. The agreement was reached on Friday when Thailand's public health delegation, led by Public Health Minister Dr.Piyasakol Sakolsatayadorn, met and held talks with Bhutan's counterpart, led by the Himalayan nation's public health minister, in Thimpu, Bhutan's capital. During the discussions, both sides agreed to review the two nations' nearly 30-year public health agreement to strengthen their cooperation in the same areas stated in the existing pact, while expanding their bilateral cooperation in new areas to be in accordance with their sustainable development. The expanding cooperation in four key areas include building up potential in the prevention of communicable diseases and laboratory diagnosis, as well as the development of public health personnel and the traditional medicine. Both sides also agreed to appoint focal point of contacts in each cooperation field to review and revise the existing pact and work out a new action plan, set to be completed in 2017, after which Bhutan’s public health minister will be invited to sign the new amended agreement at the Thai Ministry of Public Health on the outskirts of Bangkok. On the occasion, Thailand's Mahidol University also offered two scholarships for Bhutanese students, one for the master’s degree and the other for the doctoral degree, to support the development of Bhutan's health insurance system. Besides, the Thai delegation visited Bhutan's Traditional Medicine Department, Jigme Dorji Wangchuch National Referral Hospital, the best in the Himalayan nation, and the Royal Center for Disease Control. (TNA)