TEHRAN – Slovak Deputy Foreign Minister, Ingrid Brockova, and Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Diplomacy, Mehdi Safari, discussed ways to expand cooperation between the two countries, mainly in the pharmaceutical and medical industries.During a meeting held in Tehran on Tuesday, Safari announced its readiness to cooperate with the Slovak side, highlighting Iran’s capabilities in the fields of energy, petrochemical, pharmaceutical, and food industries, new technologies, and knowledge-based advances.He stated that the pharmaceutical and medical industries, including the production of coronavirus vaccine, are another area in which the two sides can cooperate.The import of pharmaceuticals has declined in Iran by 91 percent, showing the country’s capability in the pharmaceutical industry. Brockova, for her part, expressed hope that an important step would be taken in the development of trade cooperation between the two countries by holding a joint economic commission. Rise in pharmaceuticals, medical productionThe import of pharmaceuticals has declined in Iran by 91 percent, which shows the capability of the country’s pharmaceutical industry, Mohammad Reza Shanehsaz, former head of the Food and Drug Administration, said in last October.Today, all medicine used in the treatment of coronavirus are produced by domestic manufacturers, and if we wanted to import all the items, there would be a high exchange rate, he further stated, emphasizing that COVID-19 vaccine development indicates the pharmaceutical industry’s capability.In 2018, 67 percent of the active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) used to produce drugs in Iran were made locally.A total of 227 knowledge-based firms are supplying medical equipment for health centers across the country, according to the Vice Presidency for Science and Technology.Knowledge-based companies can produce any medicine effective in countering coronavirus or approved by the scientific committee within a week to 10 days, Sourena Sattari, vice president for science and technology, said.In January 2021, the Headquarters for Executing the Order of the Imam unveiled three raw pharmaceuticals and a new anti-coronavirus drug called Ivermectin, which had been previously imported.Also, Iran is capable of production of biopharmaceuticals, which has so far reached 28 items, making Iran the third leading country in Asia.FB/MG