Minister of Public Health Jamil Jabak welcomed Wednesday his Belarusian counterpart Vladimir Karanik, heading a delegation that includes representatives of the private and government pharmaceutical factories and medical equipment in Belarus.

The meeting touched on the prospects of bilateral cooperation to serve common interests in the medical and hospitalization fields, in light of the development in Belarus in the terms of pharmaceutical and medical equipment.

In a statement made after the meeting, the Belarusian Healthcare Minister praised his meeting with Minister Jabak, pointing out that they were both doctors "which enables us to be more understanding of the many aspects of medical cooperation."

He also pointed out that "377 Lebanese students have graduated from medical schools in Belarus this year and started working mostly in Belarusian hospitals, which is an important element to strengthen bilateral relations."

"Cooperation is possible with Lebanon in the pharmaceutical field," he stressed. "We are looking at assisting Lebanon in its importation, as medicines in Belarus are at competitive prices, and many of them are exported to European countries."

Jabak, in turn, welcomed his Belarusian counterpart and the accompanying delegation, explaining that "Belarus is one of the leading countries in the field of exporting cancer treatment medicines to European countries."

"We are on the verge of a new generation of drugs manufactured in the world, and we seek to keep pace with this development through the contacts we are conducting on more than one level, in order to develop the pharmaceutical industry in Lebanon on the one hand and reduce the pharmaceutical bill on the other," Jabak stressed.