The Ministry of Health and its counterpart from China have signed an agreement to add traditional Chinese medicine to the Covid-19 treatment toolkit, under the guidance of a team of practitioners.

The signing ceremony was held on January 25 at the ministry, with the participation of health minister Mam Bun Heng and Huang Luqi, deputy head of the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine and chairman of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, along with Chinese ambassador Wang Wentian.

At the signing ceremony, Bun Heng warmly welcomed the presence of Huang and his delegation and agreed that the initiative to send traditional medicine experts to assist Cambodia in the treatment of Covid-19 would be of great benefit.

“I sincerely hope that the cooperation is not only for a year and not only at the Cambodia-China Friendship Preah Kosomak Hospital, but will also be expanded to other hospitals as well,” he said.

He praised cooperation between Cambodia and China in all fields of health, especially the construction of the Cambodia-China Friendship Preah Kosomak Hospital, which will be equipped with the most modern medical equipment in Cambodia.

Huang also visited the still-under-construction hospital and examined the possibility of establishing a Covid-19 treatment centre using traditional Chinese medicine, providing it would meet the needs of the hospital.

According to the Chinese embassy, Huang’s visit is an important step in implementing the key guidelines of President Xi Jinping on international cooperation and on the successful video meeting held between the leaders of the two countries in November.

“This will not only strengthen cooperation between the two countries in the fight against Covid-19, but will also promote mutual learning in the field of traditional medicine for both countries,” it said.