BEIJING, Oct 22 (APP):Pakistani Ambassador to China, Dr. Syed Ali Asad Gilani, said that China’s achievements in science, technology, industrial development and healthcare are remarkable, and that Pakistan greatly values China’s experience and technology in traditional medicine and looks forward to learning from it while sharing its own expertise, resources and traditional medicinal knowledge.
The ambassador made these remarks at the Seminar for Promoting Development of the Traditional Medicine Industry between SCO Traditional Medicine Industry Alliance and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Standing Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation (OIC-COMSTECH) in Beijing recently. The seminar focused on traditional medicine markets in SCO and OIC member states, registration and regulatory policies, research and development and clinical evaluation, production and quality standards, and international cooperation and industrialization pathways, CEN reported on Thursday.
More than 20 traditional medicine experts and scholars from China, Iran, Portugal, the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, Uzbekistan and over 100 representatives from Chinese research institutes, TCM hospitals and enterprises, attended the seminar.
The envoy noted that the forum came at an opportune time. “As countries seek sustainable and accessible healthcare solutions, traditional medicine offers significant opportunities for research, innovation, industrial development and international collaboration,” he said, adding that traditional medicine, including traditional Chinese medicine, traditional Unani medicine and traditional Arab medicine, is particularly relevant to the discussions, demonstrating the potential of combining traditional knowledge with modern scientific research, advanced manufacturing, quality-control systems and international cooperation.
Pakistan has taken concrete steps to promote cooperation with China in traditional medicine, the ambassador underlined, citing two initiatives in particular: the Sino-Pakistan Center for Traditional Chinese Medicine at the University of Karachi and the Pakistan-Zhejiang Joint Laboratory for Research and Development of Herbal Medicine at Ningbo University. These platforms, he said, provide a foundation for collaboration among universities, research institutions, hospitals and enterprises.
“We should now focus on translating these institutional arrangements into measurable outcomes through joint research, training of doctors and researchers, academic exchanges, scientific evaluation of medicinal plants and herbal formulations, and the development of quality-assured traditional medicine products,” Gilani said.
He concluded that Pakistan stands ready to work with China, COMSTECH, the SCO Traditional Medicine Industry Alliance and other participating countries to advance these proposals, and that cooperation should extend beyond academic exchanges to encompass the entire traditional medicine value chain, from research and cultivation to scientific validation, production, quality assurance and responsible commercialization.
Source: APP (Associated Press of Pakistan)
