The Syrian Ministry of Health is working to establish a pharmaceutical authority modeled on the Jordan Food and Drug Administration, with the aim of regulating the pharmaceutical sector and strengthening oversight in line with international standards, Hani Baghdadi, general supervisor of the ministry’s pharmaceutical directorates, told Enab Baladi.

Baghdadi said the authority’s work would not be limited to an internal system, but would be based on specific standards that align with World Health Organization requirements.

According to Baghdadi, September could bring an opportunity to expand work on the file through agreements with more than one party, allowing financial support to be secured for establishing the authority.

The issue was discussed during the visit of Rana Obeidat, director general of Jordan’s Food and Drug Administration, who arrived with the Jordanian delegation a few days earlier. Talks were held on the sidelines of a conference in Damascus, with the aim of benefiting from Jordan’s experience.

Health Cooperation Files With Jordan

Baghdadi added that discussions with the Jordanian delegation also covered drug registration files for locally produced and imported medicines, post-market drug monitoring, control laboratories and their accreditation, quality and analysis, supply issues, and other matters related to the pharmaceutical sector.

The two sides also discussed the possibility of exporting Syrian medicines to Jordan and importing medicines manufactured in Jordan.

Jordanian Delegation Visits Damascus

A Jordanian delegation headed by Health Minister Ibrahim al-Bdour arrived in Damascus on June 18 for a working visit aimed at strengthening cooperation between Jordan and Syria in the health sector and activating the health memorandum of understanding signed between the two countries.

On June 19, a delegation from the Jordanian Ministry of Health and its counterparts from the Syrian Ministry of Health visited Cure Pharma, a company specializing in cancer drug manufacturing, to examine the state of pharmaceutical production and discuss prospects for cooperation in quality and drug oversight.

Baghdadi said the factory visit was “routine and exploratory,” and aimed to brief the Jordanian delegation on the condition of pharmaceutical factories in Syria. He added that there is “currently no clear plan concerning this specific factory.”

On June 18, a Syrian health delegation held technical meetings and consultative sessions with the Jordanian health delegation. The discussions covered several files, most notably cooperation in the pharmaceutical sector, health services, training, and qualification, on the sidelines of the Jordanian delegation’s visit to Syria.

Prospects for Syrian Jordanian Cooperation

Syrian Health Minister Musaab al-Ali said during the meeting that talks with the Jordanian side open new prospects for direct cooperation between the health sectors in the two countries, especially in developing health infrastructure and combating epidemics.

Jordanian Health Minister Ibrahim al-Badour affirmed Jordan’s keenness to expand cooperation with Syria in the health sector, pointing to several areas that can be built upon, foremost among them primary health care.

Al-Badour reviewed Jordan’s experience in family medicine, which is similar to the British model. He said proposed areas of cooperation include treatment and cancer care, drawing on the experience of the King Hussein Cancer Center, in addition to food and drug fields, medical education and training, health management and planning, and digital transformation.

According to Syria’s official news agency, SANA, Zuhair al-Qarrat, director of international cooperation at the Syrian Ministry of Health, said discussions focused on providing technical and technological support to the Syrian Health Ministry’s directorates in these areas.

Al-Qarrat added that the outcomes of the sessions included supporting the establishment of an epidemic surveillance center, supporting training programs and health specializations, strengthening coordination between the international cooperation directorates in both countries, and benefiting from the resources and support of international organizations in a way that serves the development of the health sector.

Activating a Memorandum of Understanding

The visit comes as part of activating memorandums of understanding signed in April at the conclusion of the Jordanian Syrian Higher Coordination Council meetings, including a memorandum of understanding for health cooperation between the two countries.

At the time, the two sides agreed to activate the agreement’s provisions through diplomatic channels, contributing to strengthening the health partnership, particularly in primary health care, combating communicable and noncommunicable diseases, and applying the family medicine model.