Jalali: Strengthening Kabul-Tehran health cooperation vital

KABUL (Pajhwok): Minister of Public Health Mawlawi Noor Jalal Jalali has described the expansion of health-sector cooperation between Kabul and Tehran as essential and mutually beneficial, particularly in the areas of pharmaceuticals, medical equipment and diagnostic tools.

He made the remarks during a meeting with Iran’s Deputy Minister of Health and head of the Food and Drug Administration, Mehdi Pirsalehi, and Iranian Ambassador in Kabul, Alireza Bikdeli, the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) said in a statement.

Jalali emphasized that enhancing cooperation in pharmaceuticals, medical equipment and diagnostic devices is both necessary and advantageous.

He added that new agreements with Iran would cover the import and production of medicines, standardization of traditional medicine, use of Iranian laboratories as third-party references for accurate pharmaceutical testing and capacity-building initiatives.

For his part, Pirsalehi assured that Iran is ready for comprehensive cooperation with Afghanistan in health and pharmaceuticals.

He noted that his visit aimed to strengthen and expand health ties between the two neighboring countries.

He explained, “Medicines exported to Afghanistan will be the same as those used in Iran and will not be produced solely for export.”

Pirsalehi also said Iran is prepared to intensify efforts to increase the production and export of medicines and medical equipment to Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, Deputy Minister of Public Health Mawlawi Hamdullah Zahid highlighted that domestic pharmaceutical production has recently increased.

He noted that through international cooperation, significant facilities have been established in the field of medicine production and added that Afghanistan will soon witness further achievements and expanded partnerships to ensure its population has access to quality medicines.

kk/sa