TEHRAN - Jamoliddin Abdullo Abdullozoda, the Minister of Health and Social Protection of Tajikistan, has said importing medicine and medical equipment from Iran is a necessity.

“Holding retraining courses for our specialists by Iranian professors and importing medicine and medical equipment from Iran are among our needs,” he said on Monday in a meeting with Iranian Health Minister Bahram Einollahi in the city of Dushanbe.

Currently, the medicine required by Tajikistan is supplied by 11 Iranian pharmaceutical companies, Abdullozoda said, adding that the capacity of herbal and medicinal plants of Tajikistan can also be provided to Iranian pharmaceutical specialists, the Health Ministry’s website reported.

“My trip to Iran brought many experiences in the field of health, healthcare, and treatment, especially dental and laboratory equipment were worthy of attention in Iran.”

In October 2022, Einollahi and Abdullozoda inked a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to expand medical and health cooperation.

Einollahi stated that one of our major goals is a broad and strong relationship with the neighboring countries, especially Tajikistan, to develop practical cooperation.

“To carry out joint activities in the fields of information and knowledge exchange, control of communicable and non-communicable diseases, health insurance, medical education, medical equipment as well as cooperation with the World Health Organization, we are fully prepared,” he noted.

In September 2022, Einollahi said that Iran has one of the strongest health systems in the region and that this opportunity should be used optimally in the field of health diplomacy.

Based on innovative indicators of health technology development in 2021, Iran was ranked 60th among 132 countries, which shows an improvement of 60 steps compared to 2014, the deputy health minister for research and technology, has announced.

A total of 1,670 knowledge-based firms are operating in the health sector, ISNA quoted Younes Panahi as saying.

He added that there are 13 science and technology parks and 95 technology growth centers in the field of health, while 343 technological products have so far been licensed, and 335 inventions in medical sciences have been patented.

The health technology development is evaluated by the Global Innovation Index with seven indicators, including institutional structure, human capital and research, infrastructure, market and business complexity, technological knowledge, and creativity, he explained.

In June 2021, Ahmed al-Mandhari, the World Health Organization director for Eastern Mediterranean Region, said the Islamic Republic of Iran is a role model for primary health care.

MG

Photo: Einollahi and Abdullozoda met in Tehran in October 2022.