Korea and Mongolia renew longstanding healthcare partnership

Korea and Mongolia renew longstanding healthcare partnership

South Korea’s Ministry of Health and Welfare recently held a bilateral meeting with Mongolia’s Minister of Health, Jigjidsuren Chinburen, during his visit to Korea to attend Medical Korea 2026.

Mongolia has been Korea’s strategic healthcare partner since signing a Memorandum of Understanding on healthcare cooperation in March 2011. Korean medical institutions have since established a significant presence in Mongolia, and bilateral ties have remained strong, with 26,000 Mongolian patients traveling to Korea for treatment in 2024 alone.

The meeting served as a meaningful occasion to reaffirm the importance of bilateral healthcare cooperation and map out future directions. The two sides held substantive discussions on a wide range of topics, including the resumption of the Korea–Mongolia healthcare consultative body, treatment for Mongolian government-funded patients, training for healthcare professionals, cooperation in cancer care, pharmaceuticals and medical devices, telemedicine pilot programmes, and the advancement of Mongolia’s ICT infrastructure.

Following the meeting, the two countries signed three agreements to strengthen cooperation in the referral of Mongolian government-funded patients and the training of healthcare professionals.

First, the agreement on government-funded patient referrals and clinical training for healthcare professionals―signed by the health ministers of both countries―is notable in that it extends a cooperation framework previously focused on the Middle East to now include Mongolia.

Second, 24 leading Korean medical institutions, CHD, and Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI) signed a trilateral provider agreement on medical services for government-funded patients. Under this arrangement, Mongolian patients with serious conditions will be able to select an appropriate Korean medical institution before traveling to Korea and, upon arrival, receive systematic, high-quality care.

Finally, the implementation plan for training Mongolian healthcare professionals―signed between CHD and KHIDI―focuses on expanding training cooperation to better reflect Mongolia’s needs and introducing a cost-sharing model.

Korea and Mongolia have already built a strong foundation of mutual understanding and trust in healthcare professional training through the Korea–Mongolia Seoul Project (2012–2019), under which 173 healthcare professionals participated in short-term observational training programs free of charge.

Under this implementation plan, a one-month, multidisciplinary, team-based clinical training programme will be conducted at Korean medical institutions in July this year. The programme is expected to bolster the capabilities of healthcare professionals in fields where Mongolia faces the greatest demand, including oncology and heart transplantation.