MEDICAL TOURISM ONE OF THE HIGHLIGHTS IN KAZANFORUM 2024

By Rohani Mohd Ibrahim

KUALA LUMPUR, April 22 (Bernama) — Medical tourism will be the focus of the upcoming Russia-Islamic World KazanForum 2024, a crucial platform that promotes business cooperation between Russia and Islamic countries. This forum, scheduled from May 14 to 19 in Kazan, Tatarstan, serves as a hub for international discourse.

According to the KazanForum Secretariat, international industry experts will discuss the development of medical tourism in Russia and the countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). In addition, the forum will explore new options for patients from the Islamic world and the provision of halal medical services.

“Medical tourism is developing noticeably in Russia. If 300,000 foreigners received treatment in Russia in 2017, that will be more than 1.2 million in 2022. A significant portion of patients come from OIC countries,” the secretariat said in a statement.

According to the statement, experts believe that the increase in the number of patients is due to the work in Russia on the 2019 federal project “Development of exports of medical services”.

“Halal medical tourism has already appeared and is developing in the country (Russia). This is usually an optional package for Muslim tourists seeking treatment during a religious tour,” it added.

Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko said ophthalmology is most in demand by foreign patients in Russia, including those from Arab countries.

The statement added that during KazanForum in 2023, it was announced that the top five OIC countries, whose citizens show the greatest interest in medical services in Russia, include Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.

The most popular destinations and profiles among medical tourists are medical treatments, transplants, dentistry, oncology, ophthalmology, neurosurgery and surgery, including cardiovascular surgery, ENT, obstetrics and gynecology, urology, traumatology and orthopedics.

The statement said that everyone can improve his or her health in Russia in sanatoriums certified according to halal standards.

It added that the Republic of Tatarstan has a regional program “Halal Tourism” with voluntary certification of sanatoriums to receive guests from Islamic countries.

Meanwhile, at the federal level, the Roskachestvo “Halal” can evaluate and certify sanatoriums across the country.

The Roskachestvo-Halal certificate is valid on the territory of the Persian Gulf States, several OIC states and countries of the Customs Union.

The benefits that patients coming to Russia can enjoy include well-developed high-tech medical care, high quality standards, the availability of top doctors with international experience and qualified general medical staff.

Other benefits for patients coming to Russia include the affordable cost of medical services and related expenses such as accommodation, food and transportation; personalization of treatment and the possibility of rehabilitation treatment, as well as territorial proximity for several OIC states bordering Russia.

— BERNAMA

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