The Minister for Health, Carolina Darias, and her Cypriot counterpart, Michael Hadjipantela, signed a Memorandum of Understanding this morning between the two countries in the field of healthcare whereby the two signatories undertake to exchange knowledge and experiences in light of the “excellent relations” that exist between the Republic of Cyprus and the Kingdom of Spain.
The event to sign the document took place at Viana Palace Madrid and was also attended by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, and the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides, who also signed two agreements on political consultations and on cooperation between the Diplomatic School of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation of the Kingdom of Spain and the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cyprus.
The MOU on healthcare focuses on cooperation in different fields of health based on equality, reciprocity and the mutual benefit of the two countries. These include organ donation in areas relating to the coordination of multi-organ donation procedures, protocols and guidelines and professional recommendations, along with programmes to guarantee quality.
To this end, lines of work will be established on training and the spread of organ donation based on collaboration with the media. The two health systems will also exchange information relating to education and training, among other issues, on the coordination of donors and communication in critical situations, for coordinators and for emergency and intensive care staff.
Another of the areas in which collaboration will be established between the two countries will be in the pharmaceutical field, particularly in “price setting and the refunding of pharmaceutical products”.
To this end, the MOU establishes the bases to extend measures that guarantee universal access to medicines in both countries, maintaining the quality of healthcare while not endangering the sustainability of the national health systems.
This is in addition to exchanges and collaboration in regard to regulations and procedures to register pharmaceutical products, and their evaluation.
Cooperation between the two countries will be materialised through both the exchange of information, experiences and the corresponding documentation with a view to organising seminars and conferences. This agreement will also cover the exchange of experts and specialists in the different fields of application of the agreement signed.
Agreements between the foreign affairs ministries of Spain and Cyprus
Furthermore, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, signed a Memorandum of Understanding on political consultations with the aim of promoting relations between the two countries, exchanging their visions on questions of mutual interest and advocating cooperation in Europe and in the Mediterranean through EUROMED, the European Neighbourhood Policy and the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) within the framework of the European Union.
They will also seek to strengthen the positive role of the United Nations, the OSCE and other international organisations, while consolidating multilateral cooperation between Cyprus and Spain.
José Manuel Albares also signed a third agreement on Cooperation between the Diplomatic School of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation of the Kingdom of Spain and the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cyprus.
This MOU seeks to strengthen collaboration in the field of the training of diplomatic and consular staff of the two countries, and to train specialists in international relations with the aim of strengthening diplomatic ties between Madrid and Nicosia.
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