Seoul [South Korea], December 14 : Health leaders from South Korea, China and Japan have agreed to deepen trilateral cooperation on universal health coverage and mental health, with a strong focus on using artificial intelligence and digital technologies, despite recent diplomatic tensions in the region, Yonhap News Agency reported.
The agreement was reached during the 18th Tripartite Health Ministers' Meeting, a two-day dialogue held in Seoul, South Korea's health ministry said on Sunday.
The meeting was attended by South Korean Health Minister Jeong Eun-kyeong, Japanese Health Minister Kenichiro Ueno, and Feng Yong, Director General for International Cooperation at China's National Health Commission.
The tripartite health dialogue was first launched in 2007, originally centred on cooperation in pandemic influenza preparedness. Over the years, it has expanded to address broader public health challenges facing the three neighbouring countries, as per Yonhap News Agency.
During the Seoul meeting, the ministers agreed to jointly work toward expanding access to essential medical services by leveraging artificial intelligence and digital health technologies. They also committed to sharing best practices on how such technologies can be applied in line with each country's healthcare infrastructure and institutional systems.
With all three nations facing rapidly ageing populations, the ministers agreed to support the development of integrated care systems that link medical treatment with long-term care services, aiming to provide more coordinated and efficient support for older adults, according to Yonhap News Agency.
Mental health emerged as another key area of cooperation. The three countries agreed to prioritise life cycle-based suicide prevention strategies, strengthen early identification of high-risk groups, and improve intervention systems by expanding the use of digital tools.
"Through the course of overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic, we reaffirmed the importance of sustainable and resilient health systems. Beyond infectious disease control, we emphasised the importance of further cooperation on broader health agendas, including universal health coverage (UHC), healthy and active ageing, and mental health promotion," the joint statement said.
"The three countries will continue to share policies and innovative practices in the field of mental health, and are determined to generate tangible synergies for mental health promotion and suicide prevention across East Asia through evidence-based policy cooperation," it said.
For the goals, the three countries will maximise the use of telemedicine, mobile health and AI-based diagnostic support systems, among other tools, "to overcome geographical and socio-economic barriers," according to the statement.
They will also focus on expanding preventive approaches as health promotion and the prevention of non-communicable diseases are "key pillars of healthy ageing," and they vowed to work jointly to address anxiety, depression, loneliness and social isolation, it said.
On the sidelines of the meeting, Jeong held bilateral talks with delegations from China, Japan and the World Health Organisation's Western Pacific Regional Office.
The next round of meetings will be held in China next year, according to the ministry.