Cambodia and Laos to Sign MoU to Strengthen Health Cooperation

On Wednesday morning, September 9, 2026, during the 17th ASEAN Health Ministers Meeting (AHMM) held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Cambodian Minister of Health, Prof. Chheang Ra, led a delegation to a bilateral meeting with Lao Minister of Health, Ms. Baykham Khatthiya. The meeting aimed to strengthen health cooperation between the two countries. The primary objective of this meeting was to review and further discuss the preparation of a draft Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and its subsequent signing, to formalize health cooperation between Cambodia and Laos. Both parties highly commended the technical working groups for their discussions and agreement on the MoU draft in July 2026. This MoU is set to become a crucial framework for bilateral cooperation in various priority areas, including the prevention of communicable and non-communicable diseases, strengthening cross-border laboratory capacities, maternal and child health, food safety, ensuring pharmaceutical quality, and human resource development. Furthermore, discussions also covered regional health security cooperation, focusing on facilitating regulations for the export and import of medicines, drug registration, and joint technical training to enhance the resilience of both nations' health systems.