The value of Iran’s non-oil export to Pakistan increased by 62 percent during the first seven months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-October 22), as compared to the same period of time in the past year, the spokesman of the International Relations and Trade Development Committee of Iran’s House of Industry, Mining and Trade announced.

Ruhollah Latifi said that Iran exported non-oil commodities worth $1.14 billion to its neighbor Pakistan in the seven-month period of this year.

He also announced that Iran imported commodities valued at $352.64 million from Pakistan during the first seven months of this year, with 39 percent drop year on year.

The official has previously announced that Iran’s non-oil export to Pakistan increased by 18 percent in the previous Iranian calendar year (ended on March 20).

Pakistan was Iran’s fifth largest export market in the previous calendar year, importing non-oil products worth $1.488 billion from Iran, Latifi said in May.

He added that Iran imported non-oil goods worth $842 million from Pakistan last year, up 170 percent from the previous year.

The intertwining of economic, security, and transit relations between Iran and Pakistan has made the relations of the two countries beyond the neighborhood and turned them into strategic partners with common interests at the regional level.

Having more than 900 kilometers of joint border can lead to closer and more cooperation between the two countries in areas such as transit corridors and bilateral trade.

Iran and Pakistan signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in mid-January to facilitate bilateral trade between the two countries.

The MOU was signed by the former Head of Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization (TPO) Alireza Peyman-Pak and Head of the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) Muhammad Zubair Motiwala.

Based on the MOU, which was signed on the sidelines of Iran’s Exclusive Exhibition in Karachi, the parties pledged to exchange business information, support each other’s private sectors, and provide the conditions and context for the presence of their trade delegations in the other country.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Peyman-Pak said that signing this MOU was indicative of the two sides’ determination for removing the obstacles in the way of bilateral trade and prepare the ground for the businesspersons of both sides to bolster cooperation.

He considered the holding of exclusive exhibitions, exchanging trade delegations, and investment in joint production units as positive steps for knowing the capacities and needs of the two countries and expressed hope that such events would continue.

Also, during a meeting between the previous Head of Tehran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines, and Agriculture (TCCIMA) Masoud Khansari, and Chief Executive of Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) Muhammad Zubair Motiwala in Tehran in mid-May, the two sides expressed the need for the expansion of relations between the private sectors of the two countries.

Speaking at the meeting, Motiwala announced the readiness of his organization for long-term and progressive interaction with TCCIMA in order to facilitate the commercial exchanges of the two sides’ economic enterprises.

He stressed the need for continuous exchange of trade delegations with the aim of introducing the economic and market cooperation capacities of the two countries and identifying the goods and services needed by the markets of both sides.

According to the official, the chambers of commerce in the two countries can provide the basis for the expansion of interaction between the private sectors of the two countries.

Motiwala also considered the revision and modification of the tariffs on commodities traded between the two countries as necessary to increase the level of economic cooperation, and in this regard, he reminded that Pakistan is taking serious measures.

Khansari for his part, welcomed the ideas presented by the Pakistani side and emphasized the need for amending the tariffs on goods exchanged between Iran and Pakistan.

“A complete list of commodities needed by the markets of the two countries has been prepared by the Tehran Chamber of Commerce which has been compiled by the data provided by reliable companies,” Khansari said.

As the latest step in line with broadening economic and trade ties between the two sides, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian and his Pakistani counterpart Bilawal Bhutto Zardari inked a five-year strategic plan document for trade cooperation between the two neighboring countries from 2023 to 2028, in Islamabad.

Amir Abdollahian and Bilawal discussed the latest bilateral political, economic, and defense issues, including the development of trade ties during the meeting.

“Under the government of Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi, the volume of trade exchanges between the two countries has increased by more than 50 percent,” Amir Abdollahian said in the meeting, adding that Iranian and Pakistani officials want to see further expansion of ties in the future, given existing capacities.

Bilawal, for his part, called for the formation of a strategic committee to follow up on agreements on the expansion of cooperation. /T.T/

Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicrafts Minister has implicitly unveiled the country’s top four candidates for possible UNESCO registrations.

Ali Darabi, the deputy minister for cultural heritage, prompted the speculations when he named four special assistants for developing dossiers and pursuing cultural heritage elements, ISNA reported on Friday.

The cited properties revolved around Iranian mosques, Persian Asbads (vertical windmills), the Masuleh cultural landscape and the Falak-ol-Aflak fortress.

Late in October, the tourism minister Ezzatollah Zarghami said his ministry seeks to win a UNESCO label for a selection of its historical mosques. “We in the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts are compiling a dossier for [a selection of] historical mosques for [a possible] registration in UNESCO’s tangible World Heritage list,” Zarghami said.

The minister said mosques along with other religious places have long been a distinctive element of the Iranian culture that should be preserved. “In Iranian and Islamic culture, mosques are blessed places of faith and cultural heritage and we must do our best to protect them,” he said.

In every corner of Iran, cascades of photogenic domes and minarets can be seen as inseparable elements of mosques, some of which are widely known as timeless benchmarks of Islamic architecture.

Six years after being added to UNESCO’s tentative list of World Heritage properties, Iran’s collection of ancient windmills is still not prepared for a final assessment. An Asbad uses a smart technique to grind grains, a technique that goes back to ancient times when the people living in the eastern parts of Iran invented it in an attempt to adapt themselves to nature and transform environmental obstacles into opportunities.

Such a primitive yet significant machine is believed to bear testimony to the human being’s adaption to nature by transforming environmental obstacles into opportunities.

Qale Falak-ol-Aflak is a Sassanid era (224–651) fortress that measures approximately 300 by 400 meters, with a height of about 40 meters above the surrounding area. The unmissable eight-towered fortress dominates Khorramabad as one of the most visited travel destinations in the region for both domestic and foreign sightseers.

Masouleh is a picturesque historical village that is famed for its Lego-shaped earthen houses built on another’s rooftop. Archaeological evidence indicates the history of human presence in mountains near Masouleh dates back to the late Bronze Age (2000-1500 BC), which is older than previously believed.

Iran seeks to reap a bonanza from its numerous tourist spots such as bazaars, museums, mosques, bridges, bathhouses, madrasas, mausoleums, churches, towers, and mansions, of which 27 are inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list. /T.T/

“Laleh” by Los Angeles-based Iranian filmmaker Asadollah Niknejad won the FICTS award at the 40th edition of Milano International FICTS Fest, an event for sports movies and TV, which was held in Milan, Italy from November 7 to 11.

The film tells the true story of the first female Iranian race car driver, Laleh Seddiq, who defied gender norms and societal expectations to pursue her dream of racing cars.

Set in post-revolution Iran, “Laleh” follows the protagonist’s journey as she faces opposition from her family, society, and even the authorities, who view racing as a male-dominated sport. Despite these challenges, Laleh remains determined to achieve her goals, pushing boundaries and breaking barriers along the way.

The Federation Internationale Cinema Television Sportifs (FICTS) is the organizer of the event, which was the final phase of the World FICTS Challenge that runs in 20 countries around the world including Iran. /T.T/

A total of 938 Iranian researchers have been recognized among the world’s top one percent most-cited researchers in 2023, the head of the Islamic World Science Citation (ISC) Institute said.

“The Ministry of Science, Research and Technology represents 40 percent, and the Ministry of Health, Treatment, and Medical Education accounts for 48 percent of the most-cited Iranian researchers,” ISNA quoted Ahmad Fazelzadeh as saying.

In 2023, 938 top researchers affiliated with Iranian organizations have been identified, which shows a 12 percent increase compared to the previous year. Over the past decade, the number of highly-cited researchers in the country has been growing.

Medicine and Health with 33 percent, Multidisciplinary with 23 percent, Engineering with 20.5 percent, Basic Sciences with 12 percent, Agriculture and Environment with 10 percent, and Social and Human Sciences with 1.7 percent held the highest shares of the most-cited researchers, respectively.

One of ISC’s main responsibilities is to introduce highly-cited researchers and to provide the possibility to identify and introduce elite researchers and scholars. That is why scientific elites are the most important factor in the growth and development of scientific systems, and the number of institutions and highly-cited researchers is one of the criteria of scientific authority in the world.

The ISC Institute has extracted and monitored the latest list of the world’s top 1 percent most-cited Iranian researchers in 22 science subject areas based on the Essential Science Indicators (ESI) database.

In 2023, the University of Tehran, Tarbiat Modares University and Amirkabir University of Technology from the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology, and Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences and Tabriz University of Medical Sciences from the Ministry of Health, Treatment, and Medical Education have the highest number of one percent researchers.

Based on 22 subject areas, 23 percent of these researchers belong to the field of Clinical Medicine. The field of multi-disciplinary subjects with 22.6 percent and engineering with 19 percent, are ranked second and third in terms of having the greatest number of highly-cited Iranian researchers. These three fields account for about 65 percent of all highly-cited researchers in Iran.

First among Islamic countries

The Islamic Republic of Iran ranks first among Islamic countries for having the highest number of top two percent most-cited researchers, Fazelzadeh said in October.

Turkey and Saudi Arabia are in the second and third places, respectively.

The ISC is responsible for monitoring the status of science and technology in Iran and other Islamic countries based on scientometric analyses.

It analyzes and reports the latest findings from various reliable sources and authorities to raise awareness about the scientific performance of the country and its latest developments, IRNA quoted Fazelzadeh as saying.

“It also provides the necessary information to managers of science and technology in the country for planning and policy-making to encourage and reinforce strengths and provide solutions to overcome shortcomings and challenges,” he added.

One of these reports is based on the latest findings of the joint project of Elsevier (Scopus database) and a group of Stanford University researchers known as “Stanford University Scientists Rankings”.

The latest update of this database was published in October 2023.

The list analyzed the performance of authors for their published research outputs from 1960 to 2022 in 22 specific fields and 174 sub-fields, and based on that, introduced the scientists who are among the top two percent of the most-cited researchers in the world.

Fazelzadeh pointed out that in each edition, this database publishes two lists of highly-cited researchers in the top two percent of the world.

The difference between these two lists is the time period of the analyzed citations.

In one of the announced lists, the period of citations received is one year, and in the other list, the period of citations received is from 1996 onwards.

In the list published based on the one-year performance of researchers, out of 210,198 international researchers, 2,140 researchers were from the Islamic Republic of Iran.

As he said, the Islamic Republic of Iran has taken the first place in terms of the number of highly cited researchers in the top two percent among Islamic countries, and Turkey and Saudi Arabia are in the second and third places, respectively.

Fazelzadeh stated, “There are 204,643 international researchers in the published list based on career data. There are 869 researchers with organizational affiliations to the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Based on this list, the Islamic Republic of Iran ranks second among Islamic countries after Turkey, and Saudi Arabia ranks third.” /T.T/

The Iranian Blood Transfusion Organization is ready to launch a blood transfusion center to help Palestinians in Gaza. “In cooperation with the Red Crescent Society, we are ready to set up a blood transfusion center equipped with laboratories and storage units in Palestine,” Bashir Haji-Beigi, a spokesman for the Iranian Blood Transfusion Organization, said.

Iran ready to send humanitarian aid to Gaza

Some 730 billion rials (around $1.5 million) in humanitarian aid was collected from October 9 until November 8 for people in Gaza through a campaign launched by the Iranian Red Crescent Society.

The campaign aimed to raise funds to help the oppressed people of Gaza is still ongoing, ISNA quoted Vahid Salimi, an official with the IRCS, as saying on November 8.

He went on to say, “From the beginning of the official call for the campaign, more than 730 billion rials (almost $1.5 m) have been deposited by people into the official accounts of the Red Crescent Society.”

“Simultaneously, in addition to air cargo, a ship carrying humanitarian aid has been sent to Gaza with the cooperation of the Red Crescent Society of Hormozgan province from Shahid Rajaei port. Other shipments are being loaded in this port,” he added.

On November 7, Iran expressed readiness to provide the people of Gaza with humanitarian aid via Egypt amid a massive humanitarian crisis caused by the Israeli war against the Palestinian enclave.

The announcement was made in a phone conversation between Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian and his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry.

Also, on November 3, the IRCS called the International Committee of the Red Cross to facilitate the process of dispatching humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Razieh Alishvandi, the IRCS director for international affairs, met with Vincent Cassard, the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Iran.

The International Committee of the Red Cross should seriously intervene in the clear violation of international humanitarian law and condemn the Zionist regime’s airstrikes in the Gaza Strip since it has violated many cases of the four Geneva Conventions, Alishvandi said, IRCS website reported.

Alishvandi stressed, “A safe way should be found to send relief supplies to this country. Iran’s humanitarian shipments should reach the people of Gaza as soon as possible.”

A consignment weighing 20,000 tons is being prepared to be sent to Gaza from Iran, and we request the International Committee of the Red Cross to follow up on obtaining the necessary permits from the Egyptian government to send these shipments, she stated.

“Moreover, the Iranian Red Crescent Society is ready to provide medical services to the wounded and treat them by establishing three mobile hospitals along with sending experienced medical staff to Egypt (Palestine border).”

Blood donation in Iran

The average blood donation rate in Iran is 26 per thousand people which places the country in a good situation among other countries.

According to the World Health Organization, the median blood donation rate in high-income countries is 31.5 donations per 1000 people. This compares with 16.4 donations per 1000 people in upper-middle-income countries, 6.6 donations per 1000 people in lower-middle-income countries, and 5.0 donations per 1000 people in low-income countries.

Of the 118.5 million blood donations collected globally, 40% of these are collected in high-income countries, home to 16% of the world’s population.

In low-income countries, up to 54 % of blood transfusions are given to children under 5 years of age; whereas in high-income countries, the most frequently transfused patient group is over 60 years of age, accounting for up to 76% of all transfusions.

Based on samples of 1000 people, the blood donation rate is 31.5 donations in high-income countries, 16.4 donations in upper-middle-income countries, 6.6 donations in lower-middle-income countries, and 5.0 donations in low-income countries.

In the past Iranian calendar year, which ended on March 20, some 2.223 million blood donations were registered across the country, an increase of 9.3 percent compared to the year before.

The average blood donation rate in Eastern Mediterranean member countries is 14.4 per thousand populations, while the rate in Iran is around 25 per thousand, Jamali said in February. /T.T/

QS Asia University Rankings (QS) has included 31 Iranian universities in the list of top universities in 2024, compared with 16 and 13 universities in 2023 and 2022, respectively.

Sharif University of Technology ranked first among Iranian universities, followed by Amirkabir University of Technology, and Iran University of Science and Technology, Mehr reported.

A total of 856 universities from Asia are included in this year’s QS Asia University Rankings.

Peking University has been ranked as the best university in the region.

This year’s QS Asia University Rankings can also be viewed in sub-regions: Central Asia (including Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan) Eastern Asia (includes mainland China, Japan, and South Korea) South-Eastern Asia (including, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand) Southern Asia (including India and Pakistan).

University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong), and National University of Singapore (Singapore) ranked second and third following Peking University.

Sharif University of Technology ranked 85, the University of Tehran ranked 88, Amirkabir University of Technology ranked 121, Iran University of Science and Technology ranked 166, and Shiraz University ranked 184.

QS Rankings methodology

QS ranking is carried out by the “Quacquarelli Symonds” institute in England. It has been independently evaluating the world’s universities since 2010. In the recent QS ranking methodology, three indicators including sustainability, employment outcome, and international research network have been used for the first time.

The information on scientific publications of universities in this ranking is calculated from the Scopus citation database in a 5-year period and citations in a 6-year period.

Recent rankings

The Performance Rankings of Scientific Papers for World Universities, released by National Taiwan University (NTU), listed 18 Iranian universities among the top 500 institutions of the world in 2023.

Tehran University of Medical Sciences won the best rank among Iranian universities. It ranked 16 in pharmacology and toxicology, Mehr reported.

Also, the University of Tehran ranked 25 in Energy Science and Engineering, 27 in Mechanical Engineering, and 31 in Chemical Engineering.

Iran ranked second with 80 universities included in D-8 group universities in 2022.

Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, and Indonesia have the largest number of universities in the ranking.

The most important criteria to evaluate the performance of D-8 group universities include research, innovation, education, and international activities.”

Tehran University of Medical Sciences, the University of Tehran, and Tarbiat Modares University ranked 4th, 5th, and 13th, respectively.

The performance of 20 out of the 80 Iranian universities has been analyzed as the top universities

Tehran University of Medical Sciences has won the first rank among the Iranian universities.

The Times Higher Education World University Rankings (WUR) 2024 placed 73 Iranian universities among the top universities in the world in 10 out of 11 subject areas.

The Times Higher Education World University Rankings (WUR) 2024 included 1,904 universities across 108 countries and regions.

In this ranking by subject, 73 Iranian universities were included, and 44 out of 185 majors were ranked below 500, ISNA reported.

The second edition of the Webometrics ranking 2023 of the World Universities ranked 440 Iranian institutions among 30,000 top universities worldwide.

The first edition of the Webometrics Ranking of World Universities 2023, in June, ranked 457 Iranian institutions among around 32,000 top universities across the world.

The Academic Ranking of the World Universities (ARWU), also known as Shanghai Ranking, has placed ten universities from Iran among the top 1000 universities in the world in the Shanghai Ranking 2023, according to the head of the Islamic World Science Citation (ISC) Database.

In the 2023 edition of the Times Higher Education Young University Rankings which includes 605 universities, Iran became the third most represented nation with 39 institutions

The latest edition of the QS World University Rankings (2024) has placed seven Iranian universities among the world’s top institutes. /T.T/

The World Health Organization (WHO) in collaboration with the World Bank and the Ministry of Health and Medical Education (MOHME), is spearheading a transformative initiative to enhance healthcare access in Iran.

Under the Iran COVID-19 Emergency Response Project–Additional Financing (ICERP-AF), WHO is overseeing the deployment of cutting-edge medical imaging equipment to 65 public hospitals spanning 31 provinces across the country.

As part of this endeavor, 42 magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines, 15 computed tomography (CT) scanners, and 14 angiography systems are being supplied to public hospitals, serving as a major milestone in the ongoing battle against COVID-19.

This initiative is designed to strengthen the nation’s health infrastructure and cater to the surging demand for diagnostic and therapeutic services.

WHO, in collaboration with the Economic Coordination Center of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education, has successfully delivered 27 MRI machines to designated facilities as of 31 October 2023.

An additional 814 devices will be distributed to 165 laboratories nationwide, reflecting the Organization’s commitment to bolstering healthcare capabilities across the country.

Notably, WHO is meticulously monitoring the installation, training, and handover processes to ensure they adhere to the highest standards.

To date, the handover process of 9 MRI machines has been successfully completed, and they are now poised to serve patients, with 5 more devices in the process of training and handover.

Furthermore, the project includes the delivery of advanced CT scanners. Two 256-slice CT scanners have been delivered to hospitals in Tehran and Mashhad.

One of these machines has already been handed over and is ready for immediate use. Additionally, ten 128-slice CT scanners have been imported to the country, with 6 of them successfully installed, trained, and handed over to recipient hospitals. Four more devices are currently in the training process.

The initiative also addresses the urgent need for angiography machines. By the end of October 2023, 6 angiography devices have been imported and are currently in the process of delivery to recipient hospitals, further expanding the diagnostic capabilities of the healthcare system.

The selection of the equipment was based on a comprehensive assessment, taking into account the increased demand for diagnostic devices during the COVID-19 pandemic, the depreciation of existing equipment, and the complexities associated with COVID-19¬related diseases.

The chosen hospitals are primarily situated in urban areas, strategically positioned to serve a broad network of patients within a nationwide healthcare referral system.

The distribution of medical equipment to designated hospitals was prioritized based on post-COVID-19 epidemic needs, with a focus on underprivileged provinces, as well as the availability of specialized staff and expertise to operate the sophisticated equipment.

This groundbreaking initiative underscores the commitment of WHO, in collaboration with the World Bank and the Iranian government, to fortify the health infrastructure and ensure that all citizens have access to advanced diagnostic and therapeutic services.

It represents a significant step forward in the ongoing battle against COVID-19 and in preparing for future health challenges. /MNA/

A southern Iranian university has opened an office in Oman seeking to draw more medical tourists from the Sultanate.

“Shiraz University of Medical Sciences has established an office in Oman to increase the attraction of medical tourists,” one of the university officials said on Saturday.

Mehrdad Sharifi made the remarks at a conference dedicated to medical tourism, adding that medical tourism is an essential need in the field of health and treatment.

“Reaching that goal requires communication and training, standardization and monitoring of the good implementation of processes.”

The average number of medical tourists visiting Iran is one million people per annum, an official with the Health Ministry said earlier this year. “We consider this sector as health diplomacy, which is a suitable platform to develop the country’s international interactions,” said Mohammad-Hossein Niknam, who presides over the ministry’s department for international cooperation.

The official added his department follows three main policies to increase the country’s share in the world’s $100 billion market. “Our policies in the medical sector concern internationalization of our capacities, playing an effective role in drawing patients, particularly from the neighboring countries, and the development of scientific and economic cooperation to increase the country’s share in the international health market.”

Iran was ranked 46th destination for medical tourism [within the 2020-2021 Medical Tourism Index]. According to available data, patients from the neighboring countries, including Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Oman, Bahrain, Armenia, and Tajikistan, constitute the lion’s share of medical tourists arriving in the Islamic Republic.

Experts say Iran’s medical tourism is a win-win opportunity both for the country and foreign patients, as they are offered affordable yet quality treatment services and the country gains considerable foreign currency.

Iran is branded globally as an affordable destination for health and medical tourism. Credible surgeons and physicians, cutting-edge medical technologies, high-tech medicine and diverse specializations, affordable procedures, and finally, its hospitable people, are considered Iran’s trump card when it comes to medical tourism. /T.T/