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BEIJING, Apr 30 (APP):Health Minister, Syed Mustafa Kamal visited the International Land Port Hospital under the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University, China.
He visited the neurology department and highly appreciated modern healthcare practices for patients.
“Phenomenal,” Kamal said during the tour which also took him the sunlit outpatient halls, 5G ambulances, and advanced surgical instruments.
“This is why Pakistan is eager to deepen healthcare cooperation with China,” Kamal said. “We hope these outstanding practices can take root in our own health system.”
The official’s hospital tour was a side event of the eighth Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Health Ministers’ Meeting held in Xi’an, capital of northwest China’s Shaanxi Province, local media reported.
Senior health officials from member states and dialogue partners of the SCO, an organization that spans over half of Eurasia and represents nearly half the world’s population, gathered to discuss deepening collaboration to address global public health challenges.
Initiated primarily for regional security cooperation in 2001, the SCO has evolved into a multidimensional platform dedicated to fostering closer cooperation across various sectors, with public health emerging as a key priority.
And Xi’an — boasting strong healthcare capabilities supported by top-notch cross-disciplinary research institutions and close geographic ties to many SCO countries — provided a fitting backdrop for the high-level discussions.
At the heart of Monday’s meeting was a shared commitment to bolstering emergency response systems, expanding access to primary healthcare, embracing digital technologies, and advancing the development of traditional medicine across the SCO community.
Kamal proposed creating a digital health alliance within the SCO to share medical technologies based on big data and artificial intelligence.
He also called for infrastructure development, especially in underserved areas.
As rotating president of the SCO in 2024-2025, China has designated this year as the “SCO Year of Sustainable Development.”
During the ministerial meeting, Lei Haichao, head of China’s National Health Commission, called for greater use of these networks, focusing on emergency preparedness, primary care, digital health, and traditional medicine.
Delegations led by visiting SCO health officials visited the Xi’an Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, a facility officially tapped to anchor the SCO’s collaborative research in traditional healing methods.