Iran is seeking to become the go to-destination for medical and health tourism for Iraqis, as the Red Crescent Societies of Iran and Iraq sign a memorandum of understanding on health tourism cooperation.
Despite travel bans, 1.47m foreign nationals visited Iran from the beginning of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21, 2021) to January 1, 2022. 635, 862 foreign nationals arrived in Iran from mid-October when the Islamic Republic started issuing tourist visas after a 20-month hiatus. Citizens from Iraq and Afghanistan were the main source of tourism for Iran from October 23 to December 22, 2021.
Iran already gets thousands of Iraqi medical tourists and is now seeking to attract more, away from rivals India, Jordan and Turkey.
Iran and Iraq share a long border, culture and religion. Political relations have become increasingly close. Jordan and Iraq have good relations but India is seen as aligned to the West. Relations between Iraq and Turkey have deteriorated with increased Turkish military incursion into Iraq territory. Politics often influences where medical tourists decide to go.
Medical services for clinics required by the Hajj and Pilgrimage; a medical centre affiliated with the Iranian Red Crescent Society (RCS) based in Karbala, Najaf, Kadhimiya, and Samarra; and cooperation for treating the Iraqi patients introduced by Iran’s RCS are among the MoU provisions. The MoU is for 10 years.
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