Minister of Public Health, Jamil Jabaq, met on Tuesday with Minister of Industry, Wael Abu Faour, with whom he agreed on the need to boost the pharmaceutical industry in Lebanon.
The pair saw eye-to-eye on the need to bolster bilateral cooperation between the two ministries at the pharmaceutical industry level, as well as on the need to reduce pollution rates in order to improve living standards.
Jabak stressed that more attention should be given to Lebanese pharmaceutical factories to make sure they abided by international standards in order to maintain the quality and effectiveness of medication.
"I will keep supporting the Lebanese pharmaceutical factories to enhance their productivity, which will automatically lead to a reduction in the prices of medicine," Jabaq said.
For his part, Abu Faour delivered a statement in which he stressed the support of the Progressive Socialist Party and the Democratic Gathering of all the submissions of the Ministry of Health to the Council of Ministers and the House of Parliament.
"If there is a need to tighten the belt and reduce spending, a thing which is supported by the PSP and the Democratic Gathering, this should not apply to vital sectors that are directly linked to the life of Lebanese citizens and their health," Bou Faour said.
"The pharmaceutical industry is an emerging industry and Lebanon has become a major rival. There are 11 pharmaceutical and medical product factories competing at the regional and global levels," he added.
Moreover, Bou Faour ruled out the possibility of raising medicine prices and renewing medicine monopoly.
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