South Korea advances digital health and medical cooperation with Saudi Arabia and Qatar

South Korea is continuing to deepen health and medical cooperation with Saudi Arabia and Qatar, building on high-level government engagements held in November that focused on digital healthcare, workforce development and advanced medical technologies.

During an official visit to Saudi Arabia and Qatar in early November, Vice Minister of Health and Welfare Lee Hyung-hoon held a series of meetings with government agencies, healthcare institutions and education authorities to review progress under existing cooperation frameworks and identify new areas for collaboration.

In Saudi Arabia, discussions centred on digital health transformation aligned with Vision 2030. Meetings were held with Health Holding Company (HHC), which oversees the majority of public healthcare institutions in the Kingdom, and Lean Business Services, a Public Investment Fund–affiliated company involved in modernising healthcare IT systems. The talks reviewed the implementation of digital healthcare initiatives and explored opportunities for cooperation in hospital information systems and digital platforms.

The Korean delegation also met Saudi healthcare professionals who had completed training programmes in Korea, gathering feedback on clinical application, curriculum development and future training needs. Human resource development was a key theme of bilateral meetings with Saudi officials, including discussions on expanding training programmes beyond physicians and dentists to include nurses, pharmacists and medical technologists.

South Korea and Saudi Arabia agreed to move towards updating existing memoranda of understanding to better reflect operational needs, training costs and the use of online medical education. Cooperation is also expected to expand into clinical research, advanced technologies and AI-enabled healthcare solutions, including smart hospitals and robotic surgery.

As part of the visit, the delegation toured the SEHA Virtual Hospital, where Saudi officials outlined ongoing initiatives in telemedicine, AI-based disease management and remote diagnostics, and proposed collaboration with Korean partners in AI-driven healthcare services.

In Qatar, the visit marked the first Joint Steering Committee meeting under the Korea–Qatar health cooperation framework. The two sides agreed on measures to expand government-sponsored patient treatment in Korea, increase training opportunities for Qatari healthcare professionals, and facilitate greater participation by Korean medical professionals in Qatar’s healthcare system.

Discussions also covered regulatory cooperation, professional licensing, and the development of paid training frameworks. Both countries signalled interest in strengthening collaboration in AI-enabled healthcare, smart hospitals, pharmaceuticals and medical research, supported by joint research, investment and personnel exchanges.

The outcomes of the Joint Steering Committee established a roadmap for cooperation projects over the 2026–2027 period, with a working-level task force to oversee implementation. During the visit, the Korean delegation also met healthcare professionals working at the Korean Medical Center in Qatar to discuss operational support and future cooperation.

The engagements reflect South Korea’s broader efforts to expand international collaboration in digital health and advanced medical technologies, with Saudi Arabia and Qatar positioned as key partners in the Middle East as both countries accelerate healthcare modernisation initiatives.