H.E. Zehra Zümrüt SELÇUK paid a courtesy visit to H.E. Prof. Dr. Kemal MEMİŞOĞLU, the newly appointed Minister of Health of the Republic of Türkiye. During the meeting, H.E. SELÇUK extended her heartfelt congratulations and wished him success in his new role.

H.E. SELÇUK underlined the critical role of advancing healthcare initiatives for the well-being of the citizens of OIC Member Countries. She stressed the importance of enhancing bilateral cooperation with the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Türkiye and identifying potential areas for joint capacity-building programmes within the health sector. She also highlighted that in recent years the Ministry has notably contributed to 3 key activities on Tobacco Questions for Surveys (TQS) and “Monitoring Health for SDGs in the Post-COVID19 Era”. These activities provided the representatives of Ministry of Health of Türkiye the opportunity to share their experiences and insights, particularly in the successful implementation of the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) and the e-Nabız Health Information System. H.E. SELÇUK expressed her willingness to further strengthen the collaboration with the Ministry of Health of Türkiye to develop and implement more joint projects and activities for the benefit of the OIC countries in the field of health.

On his side, H.E. Prof. Dr. MEMİŞOĞLU thanked H.E. SELÇUK for her kind visit and for the contributions of SESRIC, adding that the Ministry of Health of Türkiye has been a valuable partner in implementing meaningful projects aimed at enhancing healthcare across the OIC region. He indicated that a closer partnership with SESRIC would facilitate sharing of Türkiye’s expertise and experience on healthcare services and policies with other OIC countries.

The meeting concluded with both SESRIC and the Ministry of Health of Türkiye aspiring to expand their collaboration for addressing diverse health challenges across the OIC region, including maternal and child health, infectious diseases, non-communicable diseases, and healthcare services for the disabled and elderly.