Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways and Ayush, Sarbananda Sonowal will inaugurate the first B2B Global Conference & Expo on Traditional Medicine under Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) at Guwahati tomorrow. More than 150 delegates from 17 countries are likely to attend in this first of its kind four day international summit here.

Speaking at the curtain raiser press conference, the Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways and Ayush, Sarbananda Sonowal, said, “Under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji, India is leading in the strong revival of traditional medicine throughout the world. Today, it gives us immense pleasure to share that India is presiding over the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) - a prestigious intergovernmental organisation - this year. Under this mandate, we are organising SCO’s first international conference and expo on traditional medicine at Guwahati. This is a unique opportunity for everyone involved in the patient care and clinical excellence as experts from 17 countries come together to discuss possibilities of traditional medicine for the enriching the quality of human lives. As we move towards a vision of seamless interplay of modern medicine with traditional medicine for the holistic patient care, this event is likely to play a pivotal role towards this direction.”

The inaugural session tomorrow is likely to be attended by the Union Minister of State for Ayush and Women & Child Development, Dr Mahendrabhai Munjpara; His Excellency Union Minister of Health, Govt of Myanmar, Dr Thet Khaing Win; His Excellency Deputy Minister of Health, Govt of Maldives, Safiyya Mohamed Saeed and Secretary, Ministry of Ayush, Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha among others.

The B2B Conference & Expo on Traditional Medicine under SCO is scheduled from 2^nd to 5^th March, 2023 at Guwahati, Assam. The Conference and Expo will provide an opportunity to regulators, industries and business leaders in all the SCO and partner countries to deliberate on various aspects of Traditional Medicine aspects such as products, services, education, skill development, cosmetics, Herbal extracts and further deepen the trade and friendship among each other in the area of Traditional medicine and allied field. More than 150 delegates from 16 countries including India are participating in this event, which includes high level delegates such as Health Ministers, official delegates, and foreign buyers from SCO & partner countries. The total 75 foreign officials and business delegates from 13 countries have confirmed their participation in physical mode. Official delegates from China, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan will be joining online.

Adding further, the Union Ayush Minister, Sarbananda Sonowal said, “The people of the India are proud of their heritage - especially in the rich traditional medicine domain that has served the humanity for thousands of years. Today, we have an opportunity, under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji, to further our heritage and be part of a movement to revive traditional medicine across the world for the betterment of quality of human lives. As the world recovers from a pandemic, the crucial role played by the traditional medicine in supporting patient care has been underlined. We need to take this advantage forward and this platform is the perfect opportunity to take it to the next level.”

On the historic occasion when an international event of high repute is being organised at Guwahati in Assam, Sarbananda Sonowal said, “The Northeast India has bloomed under the Prime Ministership of Shri Narendra Modi ji in last 8 years. That, the region is recognised as the new engine of growth of India, is indeed a moment to rejoice & a point of reflection for everyone in the region. It is a proud moment for all of us that Guwahati is organising an international expo of this grandeur. It is a wonderful window of opportunity for the people of the region to become part of a movement to make India the greatest country in the world by 2047.”

India assumed the Presidency of SCO Council of Heads of State for the year 2023 on 17th September 2022 at Samarkand in Uzbekistan. Hon’ble PM Shri Narendra Modi at the SCO summit at Samarkand has remarked that India would take the initiative for a new SCO Expert Working Group on Traditional Medicine.

The Ministry of Ayush has been working on various initiatives under the SCO mandate. On February this year, a virtual conference of experts and practitioners of traditional medicine was organised where experts from 25 countries of SCO participated. As per the vision of Hon’ble PM Shri Narendra Modi ji, the draft terms of reference of Expert Working Group on Traditional Medicine was approved during a meeting of experts held at New Delhi last month.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), or Shanghai Pact, is an Eurasian political, economic, and security alliance of eight member multilateral organisation, established on 15 June 2001 in Shanghai, China. SCO includes 08 member states, 03 observers and 14 dialogue partner countries. India was granted Observer status at the July 2005 Astana Summit and the status of full member on 9^th June, 2017 at the SCO Summit in Astana, Kazakhstan. The draft approved at expert level will now be subjected to other administrative procedures of respective country and will be finally adopted at the Head of the States Summit. 

The B2B conference will have detailed presentation and deliberations from SCO and partner Countries on Regulatory Framework for Traditional Medicine Products and practices including Pharmacopoeia, Quality assurance and Research, Herbal extracts, Nutraceuticals, etc from Manufacturers and Suppliers of SCO & Partner Countries and Government interventions to promote Traditional medicine in them. Sessions are also planned like ‘Know your buyer’ and ‘B2B meetings’ for discussing on specific product-wise, export & import opportunities and for deeper economic partnerships with increased market access across SCO countries. The Expo on Traditional Medicine on the sidelines of the SCO event is aimed at opening up trade opportunities in traditional medicine amongst SCO & partner countries. The Ayush industry as well as Foreign Traditional Medicine industries/exporters/importers will be showcasing their products and services in the Expo.

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