KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia and Palestine have agreed to strengthen strategic cooperation to strengthen a health system that is fair, resilient and based on universal human values.

Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said the cooperation was detailed during a bilateral meeting between him and his Palestinian counterpart, Dr Maged Abu Ramadan, today.

Dzulkefly said the areas of cooperation discussed were health workforce capacity development, prevention and control of communicable and non-communicable diseases, and digital transformation efforts in health.

“This meeting further strengthens the close relationship between two Muslim countries with aspirations to strengthen a fair, resilient and humane health system.

“I also commend Palestine’s success in implementing the polio vaccination campaign using nOPV2, an important step in public health preparedness,” he said in a post on his official Facebook.

Dzulkefly said the entire discussion was held in Arabic as a diplomatic approach aimed at ensuring clear message delivery, strengthening mutual understanding and respecting the cultural backgrounds of both parties.

At the same time, he reiterated Malaysia’s stance raised at the recent 78th World Health Assembly (WHA78), which urged the international community not to remain silent on the ongoing humanitarian and public health crisis in Gaza.