The International Medical Innovation and Cooperation Forum will commence on May 26 in Fangchenggang city, Southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. [Photo by Zhang Li/chinadaily.com.cn]

The International Medical Innovation and Cooperation Forum will commence on May 26, local authorities announced Friday at a Beijing news conference.

With the approval of the State Council, the forum will be held in Fangchenggang city, Southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

Co-sponsored by Good-Neighborliness, the Friendship and Cooperation Commission of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), the People's Government of Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, and the Beijing Peace Tour Cultural Exchange Center, the forum will implement the consensus on sanitary cooperation reached by SCO member countries during its 2018 summit in Qingdao. 

SCO member states reached an agreement on strengthening collaboration in health, and issued a statement on joint efforts against epidemics during last year's summit.

According to forum organizers, the event will explore ways to eliminate barriers to healthcare cooperation among SCO member states in policies, technologies, trade, and institutions. 

Organizers said the event will be a healthy, humanitarian, pragmatic and innovative conference to improve health conditions for people in the region and build a community with a shared future for health.

"We expect to have 800 participants from 27 countries and organizations including SCO member states, its observer countries and dialogue partners, and other countries like Thailand, Ukraine and Moldova," said Zhou Tong, deputy director of the foreign affairs office of Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.