Ambassador of Indonesia underscores significance of Traditional Herbal Medicine

Islamabad, 29 November 2022 (TDI): Indonesian Ambassador to Pakistan, Adam Mularwarman Tugio urged the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) nations for the development of Traditional Herbal Medicine (THM) on Monday.

He was talking at a seminar organized by the Embassy of Indonesia in Islamabad and the Standing Committee for Scientific and Technological Cooperation (COMSTECH) in Islamabad.

Awareness is needed to protect the environment to ensure a “Greener Future.” Therefore this step was initiated by the Ambassador.

The Ambassador said that THM offers tremendous economic opportunities and innovation for the OIC countries. More than 80% in developing countries and 10% to 50% of people in developed countries have faith in the efficiency of traditional herbal medicines.

Moreover, he stated that the market for herbal medicines generated US $171.62 billion in 2021 and is projected to reach $190.4 billion by 2027. In addition, the East Asian industry alone is expected to increase at a 9.5% rate due to high herbal growth.

The top pharmaceutical corporations are investing in this industry as a result of the rising demand for herbal products.

Also read: Indonesia, Pakistan to cooperate in the halal cosmetics market

The ‘Back to Nature, ‘Go Organic’, ‘Go Green’ movements, and ‘Grow Your Own movement, are now trending popular concepts. This has resulted in a significant shift in consumer behaviors, he said.

Furthermore, the OIC nations were asked by Adam to create a forward-thinking approach to this Traditional knowledge with higher quality standards.

He also suggested creating a national database of traditional knowledge and including THM’s living traditions in the school curriculum.

Earlier, Prof. Dr. M. Iqbal Chaudhry, the Coordinator General of COMSTECH, stated both Pakistan and Indonesia are rich sources of herbal medicines. In this way, both countries can supply the world’s needs.

Likewise, he also stated that due to the growing interest in herbal medicines there is a need for certain developments. These are research-based scientific development, standards-based quality control of herbal pharmaceuticals, & relevant regulatory enforcement.