TEHRAN – Iranian Health Minister Bahram Einollahi, and his Iraqi counterpart Salih Mahdi al-Hasnawi discussed the promotion of health, medical and educational cooperation.

In a meeting in Baghdad on Wednesday, the two officials addressed the ways of professor exchange and Iraqi students’ use of Iranian medical experiences.

Al-Hasnawi said that a special working group, consisting of Iranian and Iraqi specialists, to promote medical cooperation is planned to be formed, and Iran’s medical experiences will be used in the treatment of rare and incurable diseases.

Emphasizing the need to expand medical cooperation between the two countries, he proposed to use of Iranian medical equipment and supplies.

Einollahi also announced that the first international branch of Tehran University of Medical Sciences will open in Karbala.

A meeting was also held with the focus of holding training courses focused on the treatment of various diseases, including cancer, IRNA reported.

Earlier in December, Iraqi deputy health minister Hani Musa Al-Aqabi and Iranian Deputy Health Minister Mohammad Hossein Nicknam discussed ways to expand cooperation in the field of health, where Niknam said that there is no limit to expanding health cooperation with the friendly and Muslim country of Iraq.

Self-sufficiency in pharmaceuticals production

The import of pharmaceuticals has declined in Iran by 91 percent, which shows the capability of the country’s pharmaceutical industry, Mohammad Reza Shanehsaz, former head of the Food and Drug Administration, said last year.

Today, all medicine used in the treatment of coronavirus are produced by domestic manufacturers, and if we wanted to import all the items, there would be a high exchange rate, he further stated, emphasizing that COVID-19 vaccine development indicates the pharmaceutical industry’s capability.

A total of 227 knowledge-based firms are supplying medical equipment for health centers across the country, according to the Vice Presidency for Science and Technology.

Iranian-made pharmaceuticals are currently exported to Canada, Japan, and Europe, Faramarz Ekhteraei, chairman of the Iranian Pharmaceutical Industries Syndicate said, emphasizing that 72 percent of the country's pharmaceutical raw materials are domestically produced.

Some 40 percent of the country's total pharmaceutical exports are biotechnology products, a member of the board of directors of the Association of Manufacturers and Exporters of Medical Biotechnology Products said.

Iranian-made medicine worth $7.5 million was exported to Russia over the past [Iranian calendar] year (March 2021-March 2022), an official with the Food and Drug Administration has said.

Iran’s biotechnology products are exported to European, Asian, and Latin American countries, and Iran's technology can compete with other countries in this field, he highlighted.

FB/