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Marcella Corcoran Kennedy TD, Minister of State at the Department of Health, today met Minister Jiao Hong, Vice Minister with responsibility for the China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA).

“I am delighted to welcome Minister Jiao and CFDA experts to Ireland. The delegation is particularly interested in the medical device sector and this is an excellent opportunity to deepen relationships between the two countries. The medical Device sector contributes large value to the Irish economy and exports from Ireland in the last decade have quadrupled to €12.6 billion per annum. There is a globalised market for medical devices and it is important that regulatory authorities in Ireland and China work together in the interest of public health. I look forward to discussing future cooperation between Ireland and China and to improve contact and interactions with the Irish medical devices sector,” Minister Corcoran Kennedy said.

This morning, Minister Jiao and the CFDA delegation will meet representatives from the Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) which is the competent authority for medicines and medical devices in Ireland. The delegation will also meet representatives from Enterprise Ireland (EI) and the Industrial Development Authority (IDA). These meetings will focus on the regulatory system for Medical Devices in the EU and discussed possibilities for cooperation between Ireland and China.

Tomorrow, Minister Jiao and the delegation will visit the Medtronic and Aerogen Plants in Galway. Enterprise Ireland will then host the visiting delegation at the Research Centre at the National University of Ireland in Galway.

Commenting on the bilateral meeting, Minister Corcoran Kennedy said it will benefit Irish exporters of medical devices to China by building knowledge of, and contact with CFDA.
ENDS