TEHRAN (Iran News) –Iran is planning to send special envoys as health attachés to certain countries in Africa and Latin America.

“We have negotiated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding the appointment of health attachés in the embassies of some countries with whom we cooperate in the fields of medicine, medical equipment, science and technology, and exchange of professors and students,” Health Minister Bahram Einollahi said.

“Health attachés are appointed in six countries in the first phase, including South American and African countries. We are also following up on dispatching health attachés in neighboring countries,” IRNA quoted Einollahi as saying on Saturday.

In this line, the first health attaché will be sent to Iraq by the next two weeks, he noted.

“The issue of medical tourism is very important. Therefore, countries that have extensive relations with us in the field of health diplomacy will be given the top priority.”

President Ebrahim Raisi has said the Islamic Republic is a suitable destination for medical tourism.

Highlighting the country’s great strides in medical and health sciences, Raisi said patients in many neighboring countries prefer to visit Iran for treatment than travel to Europe.

This is due to the lower cost and high level of expertise in Iran, Raisi said, Press TV reported.

Iran’s medical tourism revenues reached $1 billion during the past Iranian calendar year (ended on Mach 20), Saeid Karimi, the deputy minister of health, has said.

The Islamic Republic hosted some 1.2 million medical tourists last year, Mehr quoted the official as saying Friday.

The travelers, who came from 164 different countries, spent around one billion dollars during their stays in the country, Karimi stated.

The deputy minister said 247 hospitals and medical centers have been granted special licenses for medical tourism.

Iran has been ranked 46th destination for medical tourism [within the 2020-2021 Medical Tourism Index], he added.

People from the neighboring countries including Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Oman, Bahrain, Armenia, and Tajikistan, constitute the lion’s share of medical tourists arriving in Iran, Karimi said.

In addition to medical centers and hospitals, hotels, restaurants, transport systems, and other service institutions benefit from medical tourism, which is a currency-generating industry, the official explained.