LAHORE: The first-ever Medical Tourism Summit-2026 was held at the King Edward Medical University (KEMU) here on Thursday, aimed to provide a healthcare corridor in the country for the Pakistanis residing in the USA.

The event was organised in collaboration with the Pakistanis residing in Washington DC and the National Health Chambers, USA.

Former Punjab health minister Dr Saeed Elahi, KEMU Vice Chancellor Prof Mahmood Ayaz, former Punjab director general of health Dr Zahid Pervaiz and Director Health Dr Yadduallah attended the event.

National Health Council (NHC) USA Executive Director Khalid Sattar and Dr Inge Urbancic from the NCH were also among the key participants.

According to a press release, Dr Inge is an interdisciplinary leader and researcher having extensive experience across international health, education and policy initiatives.

It says that the work of Dr Inge focuses on strengthening global partnerships, advancing cross-cultural collaboration, and supporting sustainable capacity-building efforts across the Middle East and South Asia.Addressing the summit, Dr Elahi said the landmark event is aimed at positioning Pakistan as a global hub for world-class healthcare.

He said the primary objective of the summit is to formalise a healthcare corridor for the Pakistani diaspora in the United States, offering premium medical services to them.

Dr Elahi said the platform, in the next phase, would also launch a tourism services for the US non-resident Pakistanis interested in visiting the northern areas of the country.

Dr Inge said the NHC USA would engage with healthcare leaders and stakeholders to explore collaborative opportunities to elevate Pakistan’s presence in the global healthcare landscape.

Dr Ayaz extended his full support to the medical tourism initiative, suggesting that the public-private partnership would helpthe Pakistani community in the US to avail healthcare facilities in a better way.

Dr Pervez presented an introduction of the quality medical services being offered to the non-resident Pakistanis by the leading health professionals, while Dr Yaddullah said that Pakistan can provide standard treatment as it has recently established five drug testing labs, which were approved by the World Health Organization (WHO).

The summit presented salient features across high-impact specialties, including surgical excellence, cardiology, cardiac surgery, neurology and general surgery.

The speakers said that the forum would engage internationally-trained doctors.

Published in Dawn, February 13th, 2026