Approximately 70,000 Saudis visited Jordan for medical treatment in 2018 — ambassador

AMMAN — Around 70,000 Saudis visited Jordan in 2018 for treatment, including some 13,500 who were admitted to hospitals, Deputy Saudi Ambassador to Jordan Muhammad Atiq said on Wednesday.

During a meeting with Health Minister Ghazi Zaben, Atiq said that Saudis chose to receive treatment at the Kingdom’s hospitals and specialised medical centres because of their “good reputation”, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

He added that his country seeks to further boost health cooperation with the Kingdom, due to the quality of Jordan’s health sector. 

Both sides also agreed to implement a health agreement between the two countries and begin a programme for Jordanian doctors to visit Saudi Arabia.

Zaben said that Jordan is keen to develop cooperation in healthcare with Saudi Arabia, highlighting the importance of the agreement to serve this end.

The minister added that Jordan places special attention to medical tourism and that the government seeks to adopt procedures that can contribute to encouraging medical tourism to the Kingdom and support its success.

He also expressed keenness to preserve the health sector’s reputation and exert more efforts to enhance its status, adding that the ministry, through its direct supervision, would not allow any shortcomings that could negatively affect the medical tourism sector.