TEHRAN – The Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) provides medical services to people in 13 Asian, African, and Latin American countries, Karim Hemmati, head of the IRCS, has said.

Hemmati made the remarks during a meeting in Tehran on Wednesday with Eugene Aka-Aouele, the health minister of the Ivory Coast.

Currently, some 14 medical facilities are offering humanitarian, relief, and health services to the deprived people in 13 countries, including Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, the United Arab Emirates, Bolivia, Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Congo, Kenya, Lebanon, Mali, Niger, and Ecuador, he stated.

“Strengthening relations between governments and nations is one of the goals of the Red Crescent Society to establish medical centers in foreign countries.

The important point in establishing medical centers abroad is that all of these centers are self-governing and earn their income by providing services to patients in the mentioned countries,” he noted.

Referring to the good relations between Iran and Ivory Coast, Hemmati emphasized strengthening brotherhood and friendship between the two countries.

Highlighting the support of the health minister of Ivory Coast for the IRCS clinics, he said that medicine will enter Abidjan. Also, the IRCS needs the support and cooperation of this ministry to provide medical equipment and infrastructure.

Aka-Aouele also for his part expressed happiness for the cooperation among the two countries and said that Iran is a friend to Ivory Coast.

Referring to the provision of specialized services by the Iranian polyclinic center in Abidjan, he expressed appreciation for providing medical services to the deprived and needy people in the rural areas of Abidjan.

Ivory Coast is interested in benefiting from all the services of Iran, therefore, with more cooperation, the Iranian Red Crescent Society can be active in Ivory Coast, especially in the field of medicine and medical equipment, he emphasized.

Aka-Aouele went on to explain that recently, an organization has been established in the Ministry of Health to facilitate the import of medicine and medical equipment. IRCS polytechnic in Abidjan can cooperate and consult with this organization to import Iranian medicine and market it in Ivory Coast and West Africa.

“We will do our best to strengthen cooperation between the two countries,” he concluded.

FB/MG