KABUL: The country’s Ministry of Public Health says Afghan and Russian officials, during talks in Moscow have emphasized expanding long-term cooperation, facilitating exports of quality medicines, and encouraging investment in Afghanistan’s pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors.
In a statement released Thursday, the ministry said Mawlavi Hamdullah Zahid, deputy minister for food and medicine, met with Russian health officials, including deputy ministers, directors of international cooperation and public relations departments, and representatives of Russia’s medical registration and control authority.
According to the ministry, the discussions focused on expanding bilateral cooperation in food, medicine, and medical products, signing memorandums of understanding, facilitating investment, improving the import and export process for medicines, registering pharmaceutical manufacturing companies, and strengthening technical cooperation.
The statement added that key topics also included visits to Russian drug quality-control laboratories, benefiting from Russian expertise, capacity-building for Afghan doctors and technical staff, and adopting Russian standards and systems for regulating and monitoring medicine quality.
The deputy minister said the main purpose of his visit to Russia was to facilitate the import of standard-quality medicines at reasonable prices for Afghan traders and to attract joint investment in the sector.
The discussions come after Afghanistan halted imports of medicines, medical equipment, and supplies from Pakistan, prompting the Ministry of Public Health to seek alternative sources and investment opportunities in the healthcare sector.