Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, today held a bilateral meeting with H.E. Dr. Florika Fink-Hooijer, Director-General of the Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (DG-HERA) of the European Commission, at the ASEAN Headquarters/ASEAN Secretariat. The Meeting recalled the cooperation in responding the COVID-19 pandemic and reaffirmed the critical importance of sustaining close cooperation on health security between the two regions.

The Meeting discussed pandemic preparedness and cross-regional response coordination; medical countermeasures, supply chain resilience and manufacturing capacity; health threat surveillance; and partnership in the establishment and operations of the ASEAN Centre for Public Health Emergencies and Emerging Diseases (ACPHEED), as potential avenues for greater cooperation as the ASEAN and EU mark the 50th anniversary of their strong relations in 2027.