India-ASEAN conference on traditional medicines held

New Delhi: A conference on traditional medicines was held here on Thursday and attended by delegates from India and ASEAN member countries. The conference provided a platform to deliberate on various dimensions of traditional systems of medicine for attaining sustainable development goals and strategizing on modalities for advancing traditional medicine systems, Union Ayush Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said.

The Ministry of Ayush, in association with the Ministry of External Affairs and Indian Mission to ASEAN, organised a conference of India and the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) on traditional medicines here, according to a statement.

The conference, held again after almost a decade, promised to consolidate sustainable and resilient healthcare systems to achieve sustainable development goals and universal health coverage, according to the statement issued by the Ayush ministry.

A total of 75 delegates from India and ASEAN participated virtually.

Sonowal said India under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi believes in the principle of "vasudhaiva kutumbakam". Traditional medicine systems have great potential to play a major role in achieving the aim of "One Health", he further said.

He said Prime Minister Modi at the 12th ASEAN India Summit in Myanmar in November 2014 enunciated 'Act East Policy', giving a new momentum to the strategic partnership. "The Act East Policy emphasises connectivity, commerce and culture."

Secretary-General of ASEAN Dr Kao Kim Hourn also joined the conference through a video message.

He echoed the sentiments of shared cultural as well as traditional medicinal practices between India and ASEAN.

The secretary-general highlighted three key points reflecting synergy between ASEAN and India encompassing various aspects, which includes cooperation on public health through traditional and complementary medicines.