Tehran and Kabul are considering developing health tourism infrastructure on Iran’s border with Afghanistan to facilitate the treatment of Afghan tourists seeking quality healthcare in Iran.
“We are looking to sign a memorandum of understanding with Iran so that the residents of Nimruz Province (in Afghanistan) can benefit from the medical services of Seyyed-o-Shohada Hospital (in Hirmand, Sistan-Baluchestan Province),” said Mohammad Samiullah, governor general of Nimruz, on his visit to the hospital last week.
The Afghan official said the hospital has the potential to serve the inhabitants of both countries, Mizan News Agency reported.
Seyyed-o-Shohada is a small but well-equipped hospital in Hirmand, which was launched in late May.
Houshang Mollashahi, Hirmand’s deputy governor, said the hospital was built near the Afghanistan border to be accessible to tourists from the neighboring country.
“The hospital is now fully prepared to provide services to patients from Afghanistan,” he added.
Hirmand is only 5 kilometers from the city of Zaranj, capital of Nimruz Province.
Iranian officials have pinned hopes on the country’s high quality yet affordable healthcare to attract health tourists from regional countries.
Iran’s annual revenue from health tourism is between $400 million and $500 million, which is expected to reach $2.5 billion in the foreseeable future.
According to a report last month by Big Market Research, the global medical tourism market is expected to reach $143 billion by 2022.
