TEHRAN- The Iranian health minister, Bahram Einollahi, in a meeting with the ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to Tehran, Saif Mohamed Obaid Jasem Al Zaabi, announced readiness to boost and develop bilateral cooperation in the field of health.

Collaboration between the health systems of the two countries should be enhanced and broadened in different fields, ISNA quoted Mohammad-Hossein Niknam, the deputy health minister for international affairs, as saying.

He made the remarks on the sidelines of the meeting in Tehran on September 18.

Thanks to a famous and equipped Iranian hospital in the UAE that offers high-level medical services, there is a good history of cooperation between the two countries in the field of health, he pointed out.

The development of academic cooperation was discussed concerning the fact that a large number of Emirati patients travel to Iran as medical tourists, and a number of Iranian students are studying medicine in the UAE.

He went on to say, “More coordination meetings are to be held to move towards a structured cooperation in joint production of medicines, medical equipment, research and inter-university collaboration.”

"To take effective steps to boost the cooperation between the two countries, both sides are supposed to form a working group to pave the way for drafting a memorandum of understanding.”

The Emirati health minister will visit Iran at the invitation of his Iranian counterpart to discuss ways to expand cooperation and sign a memorandum of understanding in the field of health.

Medical co-op

On November 9, 2022, Pir-Hossein Kolivand, the head of the Iranian Red Crescent Society, in a meeting with Abdul Rahman bin Mohammed Al Owais, the Minister of Health in the United Arab Emirates, discussed the development of bilateral health cooperation.

“Iran has achieved great successes in the field of pharmaceuticals and nano-medicine,” Kolivand said in the meeting.

“The production of anti-cancer medicine is one of the achievements of Iran's health system, which has been used in an Iranian Hospital in Dubai and has been effective in treating patients,” he added.

He went on to note that the IRCS can also be a supplier of medicine at a reasonable price in the UAE due to its capabilities in the field of pharmaceutical production, expressing readiness to cooperate with the UAE Ministry of Health and develop joint relations.

Al Owais for his part also said that the actions of the Red Crescent are examples of prophetic duties, Iran is our friend and brother, and based on this, bilateral cooperation is developing, welcoming the bilateral cooperation, and creating new mechanisms.

Today, it is not possible to achieve success alone in various matters, and accordingly, synergy should be put on the agenda, he further highlighted.

Health diplomacy to deepen regional ties

On July 1, Einollahi said health diplomacy is one of the areas that are able to deepen relations between countries in the region.

There are many common issues for cooperation in the field of health between countries, he said, adding that the government's strategy is to strengthen foreign policy, especially with neighboring countries, IRNA reported.

Achieving, maintaining, and promoting health is never possible in a regional way and does not happen in an isolated region, but requires the cooperation of countries, especially neighboring countries, he stressed.

In October 2021, World Health Organization (WHO) representative to Iran Jaffar Hussain, said that Iran's health system can be a model for other countries in the region, especially in the field of health and the use of valuable forces such as healthcare providers.

MT/MG