ISLAMABAD: Facing shortage of medicine, Pakistan has expressed the desire to seek cooperation of Iran to address the issue.

The drug regulatory authorities of both the countries will devise a comprehensive strategy to ensure uninterrupted supply of life-saving drugs on a fast track basis.

This was decided at a meeting attended by Minister for National Health Services (NHS) Dr Nadeem Jan and Iranian Ambassador to Pakistan Reza Amiri-Moghaddam on Tuesday.

The ambassador called on the minister and two sides discussed diverse areas of cooperation in the field of health between the two countries.

“Pakistan and Iran share longstanding and time-tested close fraternal relations,” said Dr Jan.

The minister expressed the desire for both the countries to learn from each other’s experiences in providing better health facilities to the people and protecting them from diseases.

“We will continue our close collaboration in the field of medical education. Health security remains on top most agenda and we need to work closely to prevent cross-border transmission of diseases,” said the minister.

The two sides also agreed on enhancing cooperation in health research and provision of technical assistance.

“Iran has a strong primary healthcare system. Pakistan will definitely benefit from the experiences and best practices adopted by Iran in the field of primary healthcare,” the minister said.

“There is a huge potential for further bolstering collaboration in the health sector between the two nations,” said the Iranian ambassador.

Published in Dawn, September 6th, 2023