ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan-China International Conference on Food-Medicine Homology, Nutrition and Health commenced in Islamabad, marking a significant step in strengthening bilateral cooperation between the two nations in health sciences, nutrition, and traditional medicine.

According to Radio Pakistan, the conference brought together leading scientists, policymakers, regulators, and industry experts from Pakistan and China. The event aims to foster collaboration in the fields of health sciences with a focus on preventing diseases through nutrition and traditional medicine.

During the inaugural session, Minister for Health Syed Mustafa Kamal emphasized the importance of the conference as a timely initiative. He called on the OIC-COMSTECH to actively promote traditional medicine and stressed the need for Pakistan’s healthcare system to focus more on prevention rather than solely on treatment after illness. The Minister expressed optimism about Pakistan’s potential to become a leading nation in the adoption and promotion of traditional herbal medicine.

Coordinator General of OIC-COMSTECH, Prof. Dr. Muhammad Iqbal Choudhary, highlighted the concept of Food-Medicine Homology, which views food as both nutrition and a means of disease prevention and health promotion. Prof. Dr. Liu Xinmin, Member of the WHO Expert Advisory Panel on Traditional Medicine and Chief Scientist at Ningbo University, described the conference as a celebration of the longstanding scientific partnership between Pakistan and China. He noted over two decades of cooperation with Pakistani institutions in areas such as herbal medicines, food nutrition, space medicine, and drug discovery.