RI needs cooperation with int`l health bodies: Minister

Antara News, Friday, November 20, 2009 15:25 WIB

Palembang (ANTARA News) - Indonesia needs to cooperate with international health institutions, Health Minister Endang Rahayu Sedyaningsih said here on Friday.

To support the cooperation, the minister said , she had invited around 3,500 foreign doctors to conduct research in Indonesia in the near future as part of the government`s policy in the health field.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the 27th Indonesian Medical Association (IDI) conference here on Friday, the minister said the government wanted to forge cooperation with both domestic and international health institutions.

But she added that although the foreign doctors would be permitted to do research in Indonesia and cooperate with the government, they should abide by all the existing regulations on medical research by foreigners.

"The foreign doctors should work professionally and abide by the rules and regulations made by the government," the health minister said, adding that the cooperation in the health field was urgently needed to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.

She said the cooperation with foreign doctors was expected to be of great benefit to Indonesia and therefore they were permitted to do research in the country.

The Health Ministry, she said, would , in principle, prioritize the public interest by realizing various public health programs in the country and ensuring they run optimally.

Meanwhile, a participant of the conference said that by permitting 3,500 foreign doctors to do research in Indonesia, the government was creating the impression it had no confidence in the capability of domestic doctors.