On the picture from left to Right: Dr. Tony Nader, Mr. Alojz Peterle, Minister Mr. Shripad Yesso Naik from India, Dutch Minister Mr. Bruno Bruins and H.E. Mr. Venu Rajamony , Ambassador of India, during the opening ceremony of Fourth International Ayurveda Congress and Health Fair.
By Roy Lie Atjam.
The Indian Minister of AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy)the Hon. Shripad Yesso Naik,visited the Netherlands on the occasion of the Fourth International Ayurveda Congress and Health Fair (4IAvC)and subsequent Seminar. Leiden, September 2018.
The Dutch Minister of Medical Care and Sport, Mr. Bruno Bruinsand the Indian Minister of AYUSHMr Shripad Yesso Naik spoke at an Ayurveda Seminar.
H.E. Ambassador Venu Rajamony stated that the International Ayurveda Congress and seminar are the largest ‘top level’ event focusing on Ayurveda ever to be held in the Netherlands. Rajamony went on, “the participation of the AYUSH minister from India and the Dutch minister of Medical Care and Sport at a seminar focusing on Indian-Dutch cooperation in Healthcaredemonstrates that the two countries are eager to further the cooperation in this field.
The traditional Indian systems Ayurveda and Yoga can be of tremendous benefit to the ageing population of Europe. He added I am convinced that there is a great potential for the healthcare sector to do business with each other. Such a cooperation might take the sector to higher heights.
The seminar is the final part of the Fourth International Ayurveda Congress (IAvC) from 1 to 3 September in Leiden, the Netherlands and is organized by the International Maharishi Ayurveda Foundation, the Netherlands; the All Ayurvedic Congress in India, New Delhi and the International Academy of Ayurveda, Pune, in collaboration with the Indian Embassy in the Netherlands.
Ayurveda is a holistic system of healthcare with great potential for the treatment of lifestyle-related chronic diseases, geriatric health problems and the promotion of global healthcare and well-being, says AYUSH Minister Shripad Jesso Naik at the Fourth International Ayurveda Congress ( IAvC) in Leiden, the Netherlands.
The Indian system of medicine, Ayurveda which literally means ‘Science of Life’ takes an integrated view of the physical, mental, spiritual and social aspects of human beings and about the inter-relationships between these aspects. The Seminar aimed at bringing together Government, medical professionals, business and other stakeholders to discuss opportunities in both modern- and traditional systems of medicine.
MrAlojzPeterle, former Prime Minister of Slovenia and current Member of the European Parliament, addressed the audience. Other speakers were:
Dr. D.C. Katoch, Adviser Ayurveda, Ministry AYUSH, Government of India
Ms Amanda Mackintosh, Member of the Board, Task Force for Health Care
Dr Tony Nader, world head of the Transcendental Meditation movement,According to Dr Nader ayurveda medication starts with a balanced diet, it’s a kitchen medication he quipped.
Dr.G.P. Geetha Krishnan, World Health Organization (WHO)
Indian Ambassador to the Netherlands, MrVenu Rajamony.
Minister Shripad Yesso Naik leads a delegation consisting of senior officials from the Ministry of AYUSH, including the Pharmacopoeia Committee of Indian Medicines and Homeopathy.
During the seminar, the ongoing cooperation between the two countries in the field of healthcare was discussed, with particular emphasis on the traditional medicine system of India – Ayurveda. The benefits of traditional knowledge of India, such as Yoga and its contribution to healthy living and growing old in Europe will be studied.
The Fourth IAvC also explores the 340-year relationship between the Netherlands and India and also highlights traditional natural medicines from India and Europe.
It includes an exhibition on the Hortus Malabaricus (Garden of Malabar), the epic 17th-century Dutch treatise on plants from the Western Ghats of South India. This treatise has beenbrought together in almost 30 years and appeared in Amsterdam between 1678 and 1693 in 12 volumes, originally in Latin. It provides an overview of the flora of the Malabar region in South India, including copperplate engravings and a description of 742 plants and their medicinal properties. A rare set of the 12-volume collection in Latin is in the Asian Library of Leiden University.
Further,minister Bruno Bruins was a member of the trade mission that accompanied Prime Minister Rutte to India on May 24, 2018. A number of Dutch healthcare companies are active in India, Philips has been present since 1930. The University of Maastricht has set up an education and research centre in Bangalore to promote cooperation with Indian institutions.
Minister Bruno Bruins accompanied Prime MinisterMarkRuttein a trade mission to India in May 2018.
A number of Dutch healthcare companies are active in India, Philips has been present since 1930. The University of Maastricht has set up an education and research centre in Bangalore to promote cooperation with Indian institutions.
Speaking at the IAvC, the Indian Minister for AYUSH noted that the integration of Ayurveda, Yoga and other Ayush systems in the delivery of health services is one of the driving forces with which the government aims to achieve functional involvement of AYUSH practitioners and interventions in public health.AYUSH treatments are now also covered by insurance contracts. Currently, more than 27 insurance companies offer health insurance to AYUSHbeneficiaries.
The Minister added, our intention and aim are to achieve convergence and synergy between traditional medicine, modern medicine and modern sciences for the scientific validation of Ayurveda concepts and the development of research-based medicines.
Many of the Ayurveda drug manufacturers have received WHO-GMP certification and the certificate of pharmaceutical products for the export of their products to different countries, he added. we are very much looking forward to communicating with policymakers, researchers and
entrepreneurs in European countries for the development of bilateral ties and institutional links to drive Ayurveda’s holistic health care potential and its beneficial role in integrative medicine said the minister.
The Minister added, in November we will organize the International Yoga Conference in Goa and in December 2018 we will organize the World Ayurveda Congress in Ahmedabad to show the best of the research results and other developments in the field of traditional medical systems. The minister concluded with an invitation to participate in these conferences.
The audience was very diverse, diplomats, Ayurveda practitioners, diaspora, students, representatives of the India Foundation, media and others. A takeaway from the Q&A session is the necessity to establish an accreditation- and standardization system for Ayurveda.
The manner in which Ambassador Venu Rajamony has presided over the Fourth International Ayurveda Congress and Seminar is commendable.
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Photography Courtesy of the Embassy of India
