Mechanisms 6th Tripartite Health Ministers’ Meeting 2013.11.23 ~ 2013.11.24
The 6th Tripartite Health Ministers’ Meeting was held on November 24, 2013 at the Shilla Hotel in Seoul, ROK. The Meeting was presided by Mr. LEE Young-chan, Acting Minister of Health and Welfare of the ROK with the participation of Ms. LI Bin, Minister of National Health and Family Planning Commission of the People’s Republic of China, and Mr. TAMURA Norihisa, Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan. Mr. CHEN Feng, Deputy Secretary-General of the Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat (TCS) as well as Dr. SHIN Young-soo, Regional Director of World Health Organization, West Pacific Regional Office (WHO-WPRO) participated as observers. 

At the Meeting, the three Ministers discussed the agenda of universal health coverage (UHC), population aging as well as joint response to pandemic influenza. They adopted the Joint Statement and signed the renewed Memorandum of Cooperation on Response against Pandemic Influenza and Emerging/Re-emerging Infectious Diseases of Common Concern and Joint Action Plan on Preparedness and Joint Response against Pandemic Influenza and Emerging/Re-emerging Infectious Diseases of Common Concern

In the Joint Statement, the three Ministers agreed to extend the existing cooperative mechanism for joint response to pandemic influenza into emerging/re-emerging infectious diseases such as the Middle East respiratory syndrome corona virus. They also agreed to facilitate further information exchange and explore possible collaborative topics on UHC, prevention and control of non-communicable diseases and population aging.

The Ministers also delivered speeches at the International Forum on Universal Health Coverage, which took place alongside the Meeting with the participation of government officials, international organizations representatives and scholars. 

The 7th Tripartite Health Ministers’ Meeting will be held in China, 2014.