ASEAN conference on traditional medicines in Delhi on July 20: Union AYUSH Minister

New Delhi: The ASEAN Countries Conference on Traditional Medicines will be hosted here on July 20 with a focus on sharing research, and practices and promoting traditional medicine in the region, Union AYUSH Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said Thursday.

The conference, being organised by the AYUSH ministry, along with the Ministry of External Affairs, will see the participation of delegates from Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Thailand, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam. Delegates from Cambodia and Singapore will join the conference virtually, the AYUSH ministry said.

Stressing the importance of traditional medicine in the south and southeast Asian nations, Sonowal said that ASEAN countries and India share historic and cultural ties, and traditional medicine has been prevalent in these nations.

"The multi-dimensional relationship between India and ASEAN stands on the strong foundation of shared geographical, historical, and civilisational links which goes back two millennia... This conference is a major step towards deepening cooperation of India with ASEAN," he said.

Sonowal said his ministry has engaged with organisations from the US, the UK, Japan, Brazil, and Germany, as well as national organisations like the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), the Department Of Science and Technology, the Department of Biotechnology, IITs and others for high-quality research on AYUSH medicines.

"Around 159 different types of research projects were successfully completed by academic organisations under the Ministry of AYUSH. The ASEAN conference will provide a platform to share the research outcomes," the Union Minister said.

At the conference, the delegates will also share recent developments in the regulatory framework in the ASEAN nations for promoting traditional medicine.