TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran's Minister of Cooperative, Labor and Welfare Ali Rabiee said Iran is ready to offer its know-how and experience in the medical fields to other Islamic countries.





Iran is prepared to provide other Muslim nations with its medical expertise and experience in medicine production, hospital services and insurance industry, Rabiee said on Monday.

He made the comments at the conclusion of the International Congress of the Economic Relations Development in the Health Field with the Focus on Islamic Countries, held in Tehran.

Muslim countries can boost cooperation in a range of fields, such as production of medicine and medical equipment, exchange of professors and students engaged in health sciences, health tourism, and technical cooperation among the knowledge-based companies in the medical field, Rabiee added.

The minister then touched on the high turnover of health industry in Iran, saying that local and foreign investors can seize the attractive opportunities in Iran’s market.

According to an official at Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization (ICHHTO), the number of tourists travelling to Iran to receive medical treatment witnessed a 30 percent increase in 2014.

In 2012 alone, Iran hosted 200,000 health tourists, earning $1.5 billion, according to reports.

So far, most of the health tourists who come to Iran, have been from Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Iraq, Turkey, Kuwait, Oman, India and Pakistan.

Medical tourists from neighboring states mostly come for transplants, ophthalmology, orthopedics and dentistry.

By Tasnim News Agency