Monrovia [Liberia], December 12 (ANI): India and Liberia on Thursday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen cooperation in the field of pharmacopoeia, marking a major step toward boosting regulatory alignment and improving access to safe and affordable medicines.

According to the Ministry of Health, the agreement aims to promote shared quality standards between the two countries as part of broader efforts to enhance global health cooperation.

The MoU was signed by India's Ambassador to Liberia, Manoj Bihari Verma, and Liberia's Health Minister, Louise M. Kpoto.

'Strengthening global health cooperation: India and Liberia today signed an MoU on pharmacopoeia to promote shared quality standards and regulatory alignment. The agreement, signed by His excellency Ambassador Manoj Bihari Verma and Health Minister Dr. Louise M. Kpoto, will support improved access to safe and affordable medicines. A boost to India-Liberia partnership,' the Ministry of Health stated in a post on X.

The Embassy of India in Monrovia also shared details on X, mentioning that the agreement will allow Liberia to adopt the Indian Pharmacopoeia as a reference for medicine quality standards. Describing the development as a 'significant step forward' in India-Liberia health partnership, the embassy highlighted that the step is expected to strengthen regulatory collaboration and enhance the availability of safe, effective and affordable medicines in the West African nation.

'India and Liberia today signed an MoU to strengthen cooperation in the field of pharmacopoeia. The agreement, signed by Ambassador Manoj Bihari Verma and Health Minister Dr. Louise M. Kpoto, enables Liberia to use the Indian Pharmacopoeia for medicine quality standards, improves regulatory collaboration, and supports access to safe, effective and affordable medicines. A significant step forward in India-Liberia health partnership,' the embassy stated.

According to the Ministry of AYUSH, the pharmacopoeias are official compendia of quality standards of the drugs being imported, manufactured for sale, stocked or exhibited for sale or distributed in India.

The pharmacopoeial monographs prescribe standards to ensure the Identity, Purity and Strength of the given drugs through botanical identification, various physico-chemical parameters, assays for various elements/functional groups/marker compounds, as well as sophisticated analytical techniques like High Performance Thin-Layer Chromatography (HPTLC), High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC), Gas Chromatography (GC), UV-Visible Spectrophotometry, Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS) and Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-AES) / Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS), etc. for detailed profiling.

In addition, limits for heavy/toxic metals, pesticide residues, aflatoxins, and microbial contamination are prescribed. (ANI)