CAIRO, Feb 14 (MENA) – Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation, and Egyptian Expatriates Badr Abdelatty Saturday participated in a side event held with the participation of a number of ministers and the director-general of the African Medicines Agency to discuss ways to accelerate the activation of the agency and strengthen its continental role.
In his remarks, Abdelatty stressed that activating the African Medicines Agency embodies the shared political commitment of African countries to enhancing health security, ensuring the quality of medicines, and supporting the continent’s health sovereignty.
He emphasized that achieving these goals requires collective action to build a unified continental regulatory and pharmaceutical system.
He explained that the agency represents a decisive step toward transitioning to an integrated continental framework that ensures harmonized standards, strengthens confidence in the pharmaceutical system, supports local manufacturing, and expands prospects for industrial cooperation and exports beyond the continent.
He further affirmed that Egypt’s pharmaceutical and manufacturing capacities are prepared to meet the continent’s needs for medicines, vaccines, and plasma derivatives within a system based on unified standards and simplified registration procedures, contributing to cost reduction and strengthening the sustainability of supply chains.
The foreign minister noted that the success of the agency also depends on improving the efficiency of health spending, and improving market access, thereby strengthening the continent’s ability to achieve self-sufficiency and respond effectively to health emergencies.
He called on countries that have not yet joined the agency’s membership to expedite ratification of its founding agreement, considering its activation not only a health priority but also an investment in political and social stability and in Africa’s capacity to safeguard its health security and enhance its strategic independence. (MENA)
