Zubair Qureshi
Caretaker Federal Minister for Health, DrNadeem Jan on Tuesday met Ambassadors of Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan, Nawaf bin Saeed Al-Maliki and KhazarFarhadov and discussed matters related to health sector and cooperation in this field.
The health minister called on the Saudi envoy at the embassy. The Saudi ambassador welcomed him and held that Saudi Arabia would fully cooperate in the welfare projects of the people of Pakistan. On the occasion, the health minister informed the Saudi envoy that Pakistan was all set to host the first-ever Global Health Security Summit later this year in Islamabad reflecting the strongest commitment of the country at the highest level to the Global Health Security Agenda. The Saudi ambassador highly appreciated the initiative of the Global Health Security Summit
The Minister shared that coordinated steps were being taken to improve and ensure uninterrupted supply of medicines across the country on a permanent basis. The ambassador was informed that although Pakistan was manufacturing vaccines there was a need for transfer of technology to enhance capacity and to this end the NHSRC ministry was looking forward to collaboration with friendly countries.
Later, in his meeting with the Azerbaijan envoy at the Ministry, DrNadeem Jan briefed Ambassador KhazarFarhadov on the healthcare initiatives being undertaken in Pakistan.
“We are implementing concerted measures to protect the public from diseases and epidemics, “ the minister said. The minister highlighted the ongoing efforts to improve the availability of medicines and establishment of pharmaceutical parks in Pakistan. He emphasized the use of technology transfer for molecular manufacturing in Pakistan. The minister informed that Pakistan was hosting the first Global Health Security Summit. This summit will bring together top health leaders, officials, and technical experts from around the globe.
The Global Health Security Summit and the pharmaceutical park initiatives were praised by the Ambassador. The health leadership of Azerbaijan is expected to reach out to the Government of Pakistan to discuss these initiatives. While appreciating the caretaker health minister’s initiatives, Ambassador Farhadov said both countries would benefit from sharing each other’s experiences and there was a need for further cooperation in allowing medical students from both nations to enroll in their government-approved universities.