Iran and China will implement joint programs in the pharmaceutical and medical fields under the 25-year agreement signed by the two countries, an official with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has said.

The joint programs aim to boost commercial, scientific, and industrial capacities of the two nations, enhance domestic production, and facilitate access to regional markets, IRNA quoted Hamid Inanlou as saying.

A part of the 25-year strategic partnership focuses on expanding collaborations in the health sector, including sharing expertise, technology, conducting medical research, training, and exchanging specialized human resources, as well as developing new medicines, he added.

Manufacturing medical and laboratory equipment such as syringes, diagnostic kits, health products, joint investment, and the establishment of joint companies, Inanlou further noted.

China interested in developing sci-tech ties with Iran

In June, Ding Zhisheng, the Vice Premier of the People’s Republic of China, voiced China’s willingness to boost scientific and technological cooperation with Iran within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

Zhisheng met Hossein Afshin, the Vice President for Science, Technology, and Knowledge-Based Economy, on the sidelines of the 2nd Belt and Road Conference on Science and Technology Exchange held in Chengdu, the capital of southwest China’s Sichuan Province, from June 10 to 12.