Dear friends and GHWP member economies,

2009 is running to its end, and we will soon embrace 2010 amid the New Year chimes. A brand-new year will bring us new hopes and new dreams.

2009 was a year in which GHWP experienced growth and development. We were very pleased to see some new member economies joining the GHWP family, and here I represent GHWP to extend our warmest welcome.

The Global Harmonization Working Party (GHWP) is an organisation established by the medical device regulatory authorities and enterprises from the member economies in Asia. It is not only an important channel for the regulatory authorities in the member economies in Asia to communicate and exchange ideas, but also a critical mechanism for the medical device industry and professional regulators to push forward the harmonization of medical device regulations in Asia. Following the development of the worldwide medical device trade and the increasing demand for safety and efficiency of medical devices from the member economies, harmonization of the global medical device regulations has become an urgent issue. The emergence of GHWP has offered a platform for its member economies to learn, communicate, and discuss about this issue.

We recently held the 14th GHWP Annual Conference in that charming city, the Oriental Pearl - Hong Kong - back in November. During this meeting, we discussed the GHWP 2009-2011 working plan and targets, and conducted comparing and contrasting of the regulatory systems in the different GHWP member economies. We also heard reports from the GHWP Technical Committee and various task forces on the progress of their individual work, and special discussions were held on the requirements of the medical device naming system of GHWP. In addition, we reviewed the revised GHWP organization chart and the proposal to establish GHWP as a legal entity. Furthermore, we had discussions about enhancing cooperation in medical device regulation training between GHWP and APEC, and brought forward some concrete measures. The Conference also organized an expert seminar to explore the challenges that GHTF is facing and its future development. All in all, the Conference was a great success!

At the moment when we wave goodbye to the past and look forward to the New Year, I – as Chair of GHWP – would like to thank all our member economies for their hard work for our organization during last year, and I truly appreciate all the help and support we received from our friends in various countries!

Last but not least, we wish GHWP a prosperous future and even greater success!

And we wish everybody health, happiness and good luck in the New Year!

Best regards,

Baoting Wang

Chair of GHWP