ISTANBUL - Turkish Health Minister Recep Akdag said on Saturday that Turkey and Sudan, as sister countries, should further develop relations on health field.
Sudanese Health Minister Ahmed Ballal came to Turkey as the official guest of Akdag to discuss cooperation issues on health field between two countries and to visit some health institutions.
Akdag and Ballal held a joint news conference prior to their meeting.
Akdag said that an important progress was recorded in a short time on health field between the two countries, but it was not sufficient. He added that Turkey and Sudan, as sister countries, should further develop relations on health field.
Akdag said that he had met with Ballal for several times and exchanged views on bilateral, regional and international health issues and taken steps to put cooperation into practice.
Akdag said that they had signed health cooperation protocol with Sudan in December 2003 and under this protocol Sudanese health personnel was trained in hospitals in Istanbul and Ankara. He added that another important field to make cooperation was treatment of patients.
Sudanese Health Minister Ballal said in his part that relations which have developed on health field would be example to other fields, adding that he wished that Sudanese patients who would be treated abroad should take this service certainly in Turkey.
Ballal said that they wanted more Sudanese doctors to be trained in Turkey in the future.
(GC-AY) 19.06.2004