25th October, 2011

During the India-Philippines Joint Commission Meeting  on Bilateral Cooperation held in India on 15th March, 2011 for the first time at the  Ministerial level,  a decision was taken  to convene  a  meeting at an early date of the Joint Working Group (JWG) for Health and Medicine.

2.     Recognizes the importance of bilateral cooperation in the field of health and medicine, an Indian delegation led by Dr. Arun Kumar Panda, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India attended the 1st Joint Working Group Meeting on Health & Medicine between India-Philippines in Manila from 18-19 October, 2011, along with high officials of the Department of Health, Department of Trade, Industry and the Department of Foreign Affairs.

3.     Both sides discussed the issues concerning agreements on the pre-identified areas of cooperation and identified  next steps for the implementation.  Both side shared experiences on public health issues and explored possibilities in cooperation between the private sectors in both countries.