Tajikistan signs deal to adopt Iranian health insurance model
Iran and Tajikistan signed a new cooperation agreement to help roll out a national health insurance framework in Tajikistan, Iran’s Health Insurance Organization chief Mohammad-Mehdi Nasehi said.
The agreement, incorporated into the 18th document of the Iran-Tajikistan Joint Economic Cooperation Commission, deepens bilateral healthcare ties by moving beyond broad institutional cooperation toward the operational design and implementation of core public health systems, IRNA reported.
Under the deal, Iran will provide consulting, technical design and executive support for Tajikistan’s basic health insurance network, referral system and electronic prescription platform.
Nasehi said the accord followed more than a year of in-person and virtual negotiations between Iranian and Tajik officials. The final provisions were endorsed during a recent visit to Dushanbe by an Iranian delegation headed by Energy Minister Abbas Aliabadi.
The memorandum also covers medical education, pharmaceutical cooperation, research, treatment services and public health programs. One of six clauses proposed by Iran focuses specifically on establishing a foundational health insurance structure in Tajikistan.
The agreement builds on years of expanding healthcare collaboration between the two Persian-speaking nations. Iranian and Tajik officials first signed an insurance cooperation pact in 2008 during the seventh Joint Economic Commission meeting, including provisions for mandatory medical insurance services for citizens of both countries.
Healthcare ties accelerated in recent years. Iranian medical centers had trained more than 242 Tajik physicians by October 2025, while the two sides agreed in March 2024 to pursue joint pharmaceutical production and expand exports of Iranian medical equipment to Tajikistan.