South Korean communication technology firm KT said Thursday it would join hands with Russia’s Medsi Group to establish health checkup centers in the country, which has been experiencing a lack of access to medical infrastructure for clinical diagnostics.

The two companies look to complete a feasibility review of the medical centers in Moscow and Vladivostok within this year, according to KT. The new centers will feature Korean-style health examination services, reflecting Russians‘ inclination to medical tourism in Korea, which hosted 30,000 visitors from the country each year before the COVID-19 outbreak, it added.

KT‘s digital transformation division will also work to develop systems for remote delivery of health care services and use artificial intelligence and cloud technology to enhance the telemedicine capacity. KT’s technologies will be integrated with Medsi, which operates over 90 private medical centers across Russia in cities including Moscow, St. Petersburg and Izhevsk.

The two companies also announced plans to set up a joint venture in Russia in the future, in a move to secure a footing for further expansion to other cities in Russia and its bordering countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

The joint project will lay a cornerstone for a health care belt in Russia connecting its major cities, not only Moscow and Vladivostok, but others as well, said KT’s head of group transformation, Yoon Kyung-lim.

“We aim to contribute to Russian citizens’ health care management and boost KT‘s digital health care business, by setting up a first batch of the health care belt across Russia that connects cities including Moscow and Vladivostok,” Yoon said in a statement.

The news came a few months after Medsi’s parent company Sistema signed an agreement to cooperate in the area of health care in late 2021. Under the terms, Sistema and KT also agreed to develop an internet data center in Russia.