Georgian, Turkish Health Ministers agree closer cooperation

General prices for medicines on the Georgian local market have been reduced by 60-80 percent following the import of medications from Turkey, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said earlier today.

The government’s initiative of ensuring importation of pharmacy drugs from Turkey to effect a general reduction of medicine prices in Georgia is set to commence in the coming weeks, with Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili also revealing additional means to strengthen competition on the market.

Strategic partnership between Georgia and Turkey, including a readiness to deepen political and economic cooperation, was discussed by Georgian prime minister Irakli Garibashvili and Turkish ambassador to Georgia Fatma Ceren Yazgan in a meeting on Thursday.

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili has appointed Zurab Azarashvili new Minister of Health of Georgia. Azarashvili held the position of Deputy Defense Minister until now.

Import of medications from the Turkish market has “significantly” decreased the prices of “dozens” of medical products in Georgia, Health Minister Zurab Azarashvili said on Saturday.

General paediatricians in Georgia will be able to only prescribe generic medications to their patients, without specifying a brand of the drug, starting next month, Georgian Health Minister Zurab Azarashvili said on Sunday.

About 200 types of Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP)-standard drugs, imported from Turkey, will be available on the Georgian market in about a month, Deputy Health Minister Ilia Gudushauri said on Monday.

The Georgian Health Ministry has established an Advisory Board of Georgian physicians who are successful professionals of leading hospitals across the world, the state body announced on Thursday.

The Georgian Government paid for at least 40 percent of the empty beds at Covid clinics over the two years of the pandemic, with the expenses amounting to about ₾1 billion ($328mln/€310mln), Zurab Azarashvili, the Georgian Health Minister, said on Wednesday.

Over 100,000 Georgian citizens have purchased drugs imported from Turkey over the two months since the launch of the Government initiative to lower medication costs on the local market by importing products from Turkey, Health Minister Zurab Azarashvili said on Wednesday.

Georgia will receive its first order of the Continuous Glucose Monitoring system, enabling children patients with diabetes in the country to benefit from “one of the most accurate, high-quality and officially authorised” devices for a “painless management” of the disease, Health Minister Zurab Azarashvili said on Wednesday. 

Georgia expresses “full solidarity” with Ukraine and is “gravely concerned” over the ongoing health emergency in the country caused by the continuing hostilities, Zurab Azarashvili, the Georgian Health Minister, said at the 75th World Health Assembly in Geneva, the Ministry announced on Wednesday. 

Priorities of bilateral relations between Georgia and Turkey and the prospects of future cooperation were discussed on Monday in a meeting between the newly appointed Turkish Ambassador to Georgia, Ali Kaan Orbai, and the First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, Lasha Darsalia.

Security matters in the Black sea region and bilateral defence cooperation were discussed on Monday in a meeting between the newly appointed Turkish Ambassador to Georgia, Ali Kaan Orbai, and the Georgian Defence Minister Juansher Burchuladze.

Turkey has donated eight backhoe loaders to the Georgian Defence Forces in a move aimed to help improve its logistics capabilities, the Georgian Defence Ministry announced on Wednesday.

The strategic partnership between Georgia and Turkey and the security environment in the Black Sea region were discussed on Thursday in a meeting between the Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili and his Turkish counterpart Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu.

Along with the “extraordinary” people-to-people and political cooperation, Georgia has “tangible dynamics” in trade and economic relations with Turkey, with the benchmark of $3 billion in trade to be reached “very soon” through “joint efforts” of the two countries, Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili said in a joint press conference with his Turkish counterpart Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu on Thursday.

Georgian Health Minister Zurab Azarashvili on Friday said Georgia had imported medications worth ₾6.4 million ($2 mln) from Türkiye in August, marking a “record-high figure” since Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili’s initiation in January of the project on importing medical drugs from the country to ensure competitive prices on the domestic market. 

Georgian health minister Zurab Azarashvili on Tuesday announced the launch of a new methodology for clinics involved in the state-funded general healthcare programme, in a bid to offer improved treatment efficiency and prevent patient over-treatment in medical services.

Turkish Ambassador to Georgia Ali Kaan Orbai on Friday said his country did not recognise the Russian-occupied regions of Georgia and was not establishing official contacts with de facto authorities in them, following media reports that claimed Russia had started shipping cargo to Turkey via Georgia’s occupied northwestern region of Abkhazia.

The Georgian Health Ministry on Monday presented the concept for a new venue of the Central University Clinic in Tbilisi - also known as the Republican Hospital - with the planned facility set to replace the major medical institution after its planned demolition.

Numan Kurtulmuş, the Speaker of the Turkish Grand National Assembly, on Friday hailed the relations between Turkey and Georgia as being “at an excellent level”, following a meeting with his Georgian counterpart Shalva Papuashvili on the sidelines of the European Conference of Presidents of Parliament in Dublin.