ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on Overseas Pakistanis Zulfiqar Bukhari on Saturday invited overseas Pakistani doctors to bring ideas, technology and their expertise to the country.

While addressing the participants of 10th International Medical Conference, organised by Medics International at a local hotel, he assured them that the government would facilitate them with one window solution as medical tourism could boost the economy.

He said the government would help doctors in transporting medical equipment to the country to provide advance medical services to the people.

He said his ministry had signed a joint venture with Federal Ministry of Health amounting to Rs30 million to establish “Yaran-i-Watan” an institute which would arrange patients treatment abroad.

Special assistant says they would be facilitated with one window solution as medical tourism can boost the economy

Ministry of National Health Services Secretary Dr Allah Bakhsh Malik while talking to Dawn said: “The Rs30 million seed money would be provided by the government while donations would be sent by the overseas Pakistani doctors. On a number of occasions patients cannot be treated in Pakistan, because of unavailability of facilities, so they are sent abroad. The institute would arrange their treatment abroad or it will ensure that overseas Pakistani doctors come to Pakistan and provide treatment such as surgeries, etc., to the patients.

“The PTI government has achieved another milestone by shifting Employees Old-Age Benefits Institution (EOBI) from province to central government,” he said.

The federal government has enhanced the monthly pension to Rs8,500 each and aimed to further enhance it to Rs15,000 in future.

The overseas ministry has included the names of overseas Pakistanis in the EOBI database to provide pensions because they contribute 7pc to the country’s GDP, he said. Highlighting the efforts of the PTI government, he said: “the government can’t change the system in just 15 months, and we need support of overseas Pakistanis to make new Pakistan.”

The special assistant asked the overseas Pakistani doctors to bring in their expertise, ideas and best practices in the sectors of health, medicine and education in Pakistan so that, we can enhance our capacity to bring health reforms in the country.

Deputy Minister of Medical Education of Islamic Republic of Iran Dr Bagher Larijani said there was a scope to establish a strong network with other nations for expansion of medicines field and to support the people across the globe.

Medics International’s Founder Dr Wajih Rizvi said on the occasion that his organisation had carried out massive health care-based relief work in Pakistan whenever the country had faced a major natural calamity including earthquakes and floods in the recent past years.

Published in Dawn, December 29th, 2019