On 19 January 2023, H.E. Mr. Anutin Charnvirakul, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Health, and Lord Nick Markham CBE, Minister for the Lords for the Department of Health and Social Care of the United Kingdom, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Health Systems Research Institute of Thailand and the Department of Health and Social Care of the United Kingdom on Genomics Cooperation, attended by H.E. Mr. Thani Thongphakdi, Ambassador.

The MoU is Thailand’s first strategic partnership with the Department of Health and Social Care of the United Kingdom; it is an important milestone for cooperation in the field of genomic medicines for both countries which have a shared interest in the power of genomics to transform healthcare. In addition, the MoU will also enable finding solutions to overcome health challenges using genomic technology and provide opportunities for cooperation and activities between both countries including research collaborations on rare diseases, cancer, non-communicable diseases and infectious diseases, education and best practices in genomic medicines, and collaboration to enhance the efficiency of using national genome data.