Kuwait's Al-Barrak meets Singapore's Minister of Health

By Ahmad Al-Furaij (with photos)

SINGAPORE, Oct 15 (KUNA) -- Kuwaiti Minister of Health Ali Al-Barrak met his Singaporean counterpart Khaw Boon Wan here on Wednesday to explore ways of enhancing health cooperation.

"The talks focused on possibility of taping the huge potentials of Singapore's hospitals in the development of Kuwait's healthcare systems," Al-Barrak told KUNA.

"Singapore has one of the world's most advanced medical facilities and healthcare systems," he pointed out.

"The talks dealt with the issues of training Kuwaiti physicians and medial personnel in Singapore, hosting a number of Singaporean medical specialists, and organizing joint training programs.

"The talks also probed the possible duplication of Singapore's health insurance system in Kuwait.

"Singapore has an integrated health insurance system based on deduction of six percent of the salaries of all employees in exchange for offering excellent healthcare," he noted.

For his part, Khaw Boon Wan expressed, in similar statements to KUNA desire to enhance cooperation with the Kuwaiti Ministry of Health.

Singapore aims to be one of the world top medical hub and competes with the world's most advanced countries in this domain, he noted.

The tiny Southeast Asian country relies heavily on medial tourism and hosts thousands of foreign sick people who seek medication annually.