PM Prachanda Seeks India’s Help In Ayurveda Research In Nepal

Nepal’s Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ on Friday sought India’s help in the research and exploration of Ayurveda in the Himalayan nation. Inaugurating the 7th International Ayurveda Congress here, Prachanda said his government will promote health tourism by popularising Ayurveda and take decisions to systematise the imports and exports of the most essential medicinal herbs. He promised to make Nepal’s oldest company manufacturing ayurvedic medicines Singhdurbar Vaidyakhana (currently known as Singhdurbar Vaidyakhana Bikash Samiti) vibrant and upgrade it as a national pride project.

“Policy decisions will be taken bearing in mind the need to fully operate the National Ayurveda Research and Training Centre and intensify research on indigenous herbs,” he said.“The government is working on a policy to establish a centre for manufacturing Ayurvedic medicines and collecting and processing medicinal herbs at each of the seven provinces,” Prachanda said. The prime minister sought cooperation from India’s Ministry of Ayush to help Nepal in the research and exploration of Ayurveda. Ambassador of India to Nepal Naveen Srivastava also attended the event which began on Friday.

He said the government of India has prioritised and promoted Ayurveda by establishing the Ministry of Ayush. Some initiatives have already been taken to forge cooperation and collaboration between the two countries to promote Ayurveda and naturopathy and also to produce medicinal herbs, he added. Prachanda promised that steps will be taken to remove hurdles in the imports and exports of most essential medicinal herbs in order to facilitate the manufacturing of Ayurvedic medicines. Prachanda said conditions will be created for exporting medicinal herbs and assured of government grants for farming herbs.