Xu Jinghe, deputy commissioner of China's National Medical Products Administration (NMPA), held talks with Hisham bin Saad Aljadhey, CEO of the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA), on Feb 16 in Riyadh, capital of Saudi Arabia, on the sidelines of the 26th annual meeting of the Global Harmonization Working Party (GHWP).

Xu said that the NMPA attaches great importance to its cooperation with the SFDA, and expects to strengthen bilateral exchanges in drug regulation and to promote the signing and implementation of the memorandum of understanding on cooperation as soon as possible.

Xu voiced his appreciation for Saudi Arabia's contribution to the international coordination of medical device regulation over the years, and expressed his hopes to make joint efforts with the SFDA to accelerate the development of the GHWP in the future.

He also introduced China's initiatives and outcomes in the regulatory reform and innovation of drugs and medical devices in recent years.

Hisham bin Saad Aljadhey said that the SFDA hopes to carry out all-round collaboration with the NMPA in international organizations on drug and medical device regulation, especially on the GHWP platform. He also expressed the expectation of more information exchanges and sharing of regulation on drugs and medical devices, as well as the entering of more innovative Chinese drugs and medical devices into the Saudi Arabian and Middle Eastern markets at an early date.

The two sides agreed to push forward cooperation in drugs and medical devices in a bid to continuously improve the health of the people of the two countries.

Officials of the NMPA's Department of Medical Device Registration, Department of Science, Technology and International Cooperation, and the China Center for Food and Drug International Exchange also attended the meeting.