The summit aimed to achieve the goal of health security among the SCO nations
Under India's presidency of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), the B2B Conference & Expo and National Arogya Summit held in Guwahati earlier this month brought together SCO member nations to promote Traditional Medicine.

The event aimed to contribute to economic development and environmental protection, and achieve the goal of health security among the SCO nations.

According to the SCO Secretariat, the event participants exchanged experience in traditional and integrative medicine and discussed the prospects for the integration of these fields into the existing healthcare systems in order to achieve universal healthcare coverage.

The participants considered the possibility of expanding cooperation in education and research to improve the safety and effectiveness of these methods in preventing and treating a wide range of diseases.

They stressed the importance of creating an institutional mechanism for regular interaction between the SCO countries on traditional and integrative medicine.

The conference was inaugurated by Union Minister of Ayush and Ports, Shipping & Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal, and witnessed the active participation of Dr. Thet Khaing Win Minister of Health, Myanmar, Safiyya Mohamed Saeed Deputy Minister of Health, Maldives, and Dr. Munjpara Mahendrabhai MoS for Ayush. China, Russia, and Pakistan also participated in technical sessions through virtual mode.

The conference was attended by a total of 214 participants, out of which 83 were international delegates from SCO Countries, and 131 were Indian delegates. A total of 30 presentations were made during the event, of which 19 were from SCO countries.

The B2B exhibition also had 56 exhibitors, including businesses, educational institutions, and Ayush service providers, who displayed their goods, institutions, and infrastructure.

More than 125 one-on-one interactions between buyers and vendors were placed throughout the conference and the expo. 13 SCO nations expressed trade interest in the areas of traditional medicine products, ayurvedic education, and building infrastructure for delivering ayurveda and yoga for medical value travel.

The Ministry of Ayush took various initiatives on Traditional Medicine during India's SCO Presidency, including the organization of a virtual conference of experts and practitioners of Traditional Medicine, and the First Expert Working Group (EWG) on Traditional Medicine. The Guwahati SCO B2B Conference and Expo successfully continued the momentum.

On the sidelines of the conference, the Ministry of Ayush had a bilateral meeting with Myanmar to discuss cooperation on Ayurveda and Traditional Medicine. An MoU for the same was signed in 2016, automatically extended and valid until 28th August 2026.

The B2B conference was planned around the theme "SECURE" SCO, where "S" stands for "Security for Citizens," "E" stands for "Economic Development," "C" stands for "Connectivity," "U" stands for "Unity," "R" stands for "Respect for Sovereignty and Territorial Unity," and "E" stands for "Environment Protection.