Turkey-UK HealthCare Business forum kicks off in Istanbul

By Hatice Senses Kurukiz and Guc Gonel

ISTANBUL (AA) - Turkey tested the infrastructure of its health system during the coronavirus pandemic and has demonstrated the quality of the system to the whole world, the Turkish deputy health minister said Thursday.

Suayip Birinci made the comments at the Turkey-UK Healthcare Business Forum in Istanbul, where hundreds participated physically and virtually.

The Turkish official said countries, especially developed ones, were planning to restore their health system and it was a huge opportunity for Turkey as it was one of the rare countries that succeeded in turning its health care power into an opportunity while having a qualified infrastructure.

Turkey's abilities in the health care sector drew global attention and his country has sought to share its experience with the world, he said,

"We are trying to establish sectoral cooperation in this field as well; both the UK and Turkish parties will show their ability to work closely with the sectoral players here," he said.

The pandemic revealed the efficacy of Turkey's digitalization in the health sector, said Birinci, adding that the pandemic was like a test proving this argument and the world witnessed the process.

"We have this opportunity to see how effective digitalization is, how cost-effective it operates and actually optimizes in the process," he said.

Although the pandemic reduced global mobility, Turkey was able to meet the demand that was higher than expected, he noted, referring to the impact of the pandemic on health tourism.

*Writing by Ali Murat Alhas