Iraqi Kurdistan region urges Iran's medical cooperation

Health Minister of the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Tahir al-Harami in a meeting with Iranian Deputy Health Minister Mohammad Hossein Niknam underlined KRG's enthusiasm for the expansion of cooperation with Iran in grounds of medical services and medication. "They demanded the Iranian companies to increase activity in area of medicine and medical equipment in the Kurdistan Region so as to gain a bigger share of this market," Niknam told reporters after the meeting on Sunday. "They had also demands for training human resources, specially in the field of nursing, and we welcomed it," he added. Niknam stressed that Iran is always concerned about the health, hygiene and sanitation conditions of its neighbors, and said the Iraqi health minister is due to travel to Iran in the near future in a bid to further develop the two countries' ties and cooperation in this arena. Iran had also announced in June that it planed to boost mutual cooperation with its war-torn neighbor, Iraq, in medicinal, health, training and research fields. Iran's Health Minister Marzieh Vahid Dastjerdi said at the time that the Islamic Republic is ready to cooperate with Iraq to improve the country's medicinal situation. "We consider Iraqi people our friend and neighbor, and we will withhold no attempt to improve your health and medicinal situation," Vahid Dastjerdi said in a meeting with Head of Iraq's Red Crescent Society Yasin Ahmed Abbas al-Mamouri at the time. "We are ready to cooperate with your country in medicinal, health, educational and research fields until Iraq gradually advances in medication," she added.