Organisation of Islamic Cooperation
The Collective Voice of The Muslim World
Date: 18/12/2012
Honourable Members, Ladies and Gentlemen, It is indeed a great pleasure for me to be invited to the third Conference on Health Tourism in Islamic Countries holding in Mashhad in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Let me, at the very outset; congratulate the Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA) as well as the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran for their consistent efforts in promoting this dynamic and still emerging sector of health tourism among the OIC Member States. I am aware of the great success achieved during the two previous Conferences on the same subject and going by the high turn-out of participants and the impressive items of its agenda, it is apparent that this Conference will register even greater success. I am particularly encouraged by the emerging trend at this Conference, whereby local and regional partnerships are developing, while the participation of the public and private sectors are becoming well pronounced. This multistakeholders’ partnership is strongly supported by the OIC. Hounarable Members Ladies and Gentlemen Promoting health is at the heart of OIC policy. We have carried out, under the Science and Technology Department, a number of programmes and activities aimed at empowering Member States to provide quality health services to their citizens. We are however, aware that our Member States are at different levels of development and while some are able to cater for the health needs of their nationals, it is quite a different case with many others. This is where this noble idea of promoting health tourism within our own Member States becomes relevant for many of the citizens of our Member States who usually find themselves with no choice but to seek medical services outside their places of regular domicile and, more often than not, they opt for the Western countries or countries such as India, South Africa, Thailand and China. What I am advocating here is the fact that increasing health tourism among OIC Member States has the singular advantage of increasing intra-OIC trade and interaction. Intra-OIC trade has increased in recent times from 14.5% in 2004 to 17.8% in 2011, even as the OIC has set for itself, under the Ten Year Programme of Action adopted in Makkah Al-Mukarammah in 2005, a target of attaining 20% of intra-OIC trade by the year 2015. I must commend the flexibility inherent in the health tourism arrangements in Iran, which is aimed at encouraging easy access to quality services by our citizens. It is also encouraging to note that issues such as a common Medical Accreditation System and medical insurances collaborations among the OIC Member States are top on the agenda of this Conference. Distinguished participants, Ladies and Gentlemen, Having underscored the strong point for the convening of this Conference, , it is important to realize that the concept of “health” involves more than just mere treatment of diseases. It implies general well-being of people. This is to say that Health tourism is about fostering well-being. It brings together the idea of promoting tourist services and facilities, with promoting health and well-being. This in turn will spur the Member States to develop the necessary infrastructure and provide the requisite resources. The availability of a health and wellness infrastructure will ultimately be an important criterion for choosing a holiday destination. This fits well in the over all economic agenda of the OIC of fostering economic and social development of its Member States. Needless to say, health tourism should not be something that only the wealthy can afford. It should be universal and affordable by all categories of our populations. We can maximize health gains when health tourism is pitched not only at the high-end of the tourist market, but is mainstreamed across that market. Significantly, the promotion of health tourism cut across three major planks of the OIC economic cooperation agenda. Apart from the increase in intra-OIC trade as explained above, the issue of human capital development is at the core of OIC programme as encapsulated in both the Special Programme for the Development of Africa and the OIC Plan of Action for Cooperation with Central Asia. Certainly the attainments of the Millennium Development Goals, which run through these twin projects of OIC, coincide with the objectives of this Conference. The third area of focus of OIC is the promotion of Private Sector-led economic growth. In this regard, let me take the opportunity of this Conference to invite the Private Sector to actively get involved in our efforts at developing the tourism sector. The establishment of an OIC-COMCEC Private Sector Tourism Forum which held its maiden meeting in Izmir, Republic of Turkey on 7-8 December 2012 is one of the mechanisms we have devised to create a platform where the Public Private Sector partnerships in the field of tourism could be forged. In conclusion, it is my hope that the recommendations made by this Conference will go a long way in promoting the laudable objectives, which the organizers seek to realize, particularly in underscoring the raison d’etre of our joint action within the OIC and for the sustained transformation of our respective economies. Let me, once again, thank the organizers of this Conference for the warm hospitality and excellent arrangements made for the participants. Thank you for your kind attention.
