The Kingdom and Canada plan to accelerate cooperation in the heath sector over the next six months, according to the Saudi deputy health minister.
Mohammed Hamzah Kosheim told journalists on Thursday that details of the plan was outlined during a meeting with Simon Kennedy, the Canadian deputy minister of international trade, and his accompanying delegation at his office in Riyadh.
Thomas MacDonald, the Canadian ambassador, was also present during the discussions.
“Canada is a highly developed country in the health sector. We are happy to exchange expertise for the benefit of the two nations,” Kosheim said.
Kennedy said his visit was a follow up to the agreement signed between the two countries recently. “We discussed the details of some of the future projects that are to be undertaken by the two parties.”
The agreement was signed recently by Peter Van Loan, the Canadian minister for international trade, and Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, the Saudi health minister.
Following the signing ceremony, Loan said cooperation between the two countries goes back three decades. “The agreement will create new opportunities to enhance and increase cooperation in the health and medical fields and enable the Kingdom to benefit from Canada, which is recognized as having one of the best health care systems in the world,” said Loan.
According to Al-Rabeeah, the agreement would allow the two countries to share medical expertise and exchange physicians and health care professionals. It would also offer training opportunities for Saudi physicians and health care personnel in Canada.
Kennedy said that some 4,000 Saudi doctors have graduated from various universities and medical colleges in Canada. “We have currently around 17,000 Saudi students studying at various colleges and universities in Canada,” he said.
