The University of Macau (UM) said in a statement yesterday that the Western Pacific Regional Forum for the Harmonisation of Herbal Medicines’ (FHH) permanent secretariat will be established on its campus, aiming to assist the local government in promoting economic diversification by developing the Chinese medicine industry into a signature industry in Macau.
The statement noted that according to the “Second Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development of the Macau SAR (2021-2025)”, Chinese medicine research and development (R&D) and manufacturing is an “entry point” to the health industry’s development in Macau’s appropriate economic diversification.
Moreover, the statement pointed out, the Chinese medicine industry is also listed as a “signature industry” of Macau and among the new industries supporting its appropriate economic diversification in the “Master Plan of the Development of the Guangdong-Macau In-depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin”.
The statement said that UM is dedicated to the industry’s promotion and has established the first-of-its-kind State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine.
The public university has, over the years, also accomplished achievements in industrial cooperation, the standardisation and internationalisation of Chinese medicine, among others, noting that the permanent secretariat’s establishment at UM “will support the forum in further leveraging its role as a platform as well as its international influence”, the statement underlined.
The statement said that the permanent secretariat is engaged in facilitating FHH’s operation and long-term development, building a service platform for economic and trade cooperation in the Chinese medicine industry, and “promoting research and related work for establishing regional and international standards for herbal medicines and developing technical requirements for product registration” with Macau as a coordination platform.
Founded in 2002, the statement noted that its founding members come from seven countries and regions, with Macau having joined the FHH Standing Committee meetings as an observer last year and submitted an FHH membership application this year, according to the statement, which was approved after a discussion in the 20th FHH Standing Committee
FHH, as a technical forum, hosts meetings to discuss the “quality, efficacy, and safety of herbal medicines”, aiming to promote traditional and herbal medicine’s coordination and development in the Western Pacific region, the statement added, noting that it also endeavours to “improve the quality, efficacy, and safety of herbal medicines and promote the health of residents in the region and beyond”.
This undated handout photo provided by the University of Macau (UM) yesterday shows its campus in Hengqin.
