The International Institute on Ageing, United Nations - Malta (INIA) on Monday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) online with China's Henan University of Chinese Medicine (HUCM) to foster collaboration in the field of ageing training.

According to the MoU, the two sides will work together to establish a training center of the INIA in Zhengzhou, capital city of central China's Henan Province.

At the signing ceremony, INIA Director Marvin Formosa expressed optimism about the partnership, highlighting the institute's longstanding amicable relationship with China and its established collaborations with various Chinese governmental organizations and research institutions.

He said that the INIA has trained a large number of management professionals and staff in China.

Peng Xin, vice principal of the HUCM, said that traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has a unique effect and role in chronic disease rehabilitation, care, nursing, and health preservation of the aged. Peng outlined the collaborative goals of enhancing research and training exchanges, underscoring the commitment to promoting TCM's contribution to the research of aging and dementia diseases.

The INIA, an international institute on aging inaugurated by the United Nations and the Government of Malta in 1988, provides multidisciplinary education and training related to ageing, while also acting as a catalyst for the exchange of information concerning aging welfare.

The World Health Organization (WHO) emphasized in October 2023 the global demographic shift towards an aging population, where the number of individuals aged over 60 is expected to double by 2050, reaching nearly 2.1 billion.