Launching national campaign to support local industry of medicine

Economy – Launching national campaign to support local industry of medicine NNA - Industry Minister, Hussein Hajj Hassan, on Friday launched in a ceremony the national campaign for supporting the Lebanese industry of medicine at the Grand Serail in presence of Vice Prime Minister, Health Minister Ghassan Hasbani, and other figures. Minister Hajj Hassan said in his speech delivered on the occasion that the registration of a foreign medicine in Lebanon before allowing the importation of said medicine to Lebanon was a very easy process, while the registration of the Lebanese medicine abroad was a very exhaustic one. Hajj Hassan proposed that the government should adopt a policy serving the Lebanese industry in front of foreign ones, notably regarding registrations. He called for clear procedures to be taken to reduce the value of imports. Minister Hasbani, for his part, pointed out that the Lebanese pharmaceutical industry constituted a key pillar of the health and economic systems. Hasbani stressed that "the domestic industry provides job opportunities for the Lebanese youth and investment destination for local capitals as well as it improves the balance of trade." “The Ministry of Health adopted measures and actions to raise the level of pharmaceutical industry and quality according to international standards,” he said. =========Y.B.