Iran Regional Hub of Medical Tourism: President
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Highlighting the growing number of patients who travel from neighboring countries to receive treatment in Iran, President Ebrahim Raisi said the Islamic Republic is regarded as the regional hub of health services.
Addressing a conference held in Tehran on Saturday to pay tribute to the Iranian medical society, Raisi said Iran has a perfect position in the region and the world in terms of medical sciences as many Iranian cities are considered as “health hubs”.
“Our scientific and medical ranking is acknowledged by international officials,” he added, saying Iran can rightly claim that it is a hub of health services.
The citizens of neighboring countries have said that while they used to travel to Europe for treatment in the past, they now prefer to come to Iran for medical services, he added.
The president also noted that over 90 percent of the medicines used in Iran are produced inside the country, and Iran is now a major exporter of pharmaceutical products.
Raisi went on to say that many foreign heads of state have hailed Iran’s progress in the medical and pharmaceutical sectors and have expressed willingness to cooperate with Tehran in this fields.
In June 2019, an Iranian deputy health minister said the country has witnessed a 15-fold increase in the number of health tourists in the past decade.
The number of health tourists visiting Iran rose from 20,000 in 2007 to 300,000 in 2019, as the total revenues earned from health tourism have reached 1.2 billion dollars.