Secretary of the fourth national festival and exhibition of medical plants, natural products and Iranian medicine (traditional) regarded this event as the apparent example of attention to Iranian products. In this regard, the year 2018 is named as the year of supporting Iranian products. He expressed: this is the actual manifestation of attention to this slogan since the main section for showcasing Iranian products is the industry of medical plants, which are cultured, harvested, produced, and eventually entered into the industry as Iranian products.

According to the public relations and information center of the Vice-Presidency for science and technology affairs, Mohammad Hasan Osareh, secretary of medicinal plants and traditional medicine sciences and technologies development headquarter, announced in the press conference of the fourth national festival and exhibition of medical plants, natural products and Iranian medicine (traditional) that the festival is held every two years during November 11^th-14^th, 2018 in Musala of Tehran. He added: the first round of the event was held eight years ago in 2012 and was greatly welcomed by its audience. After that, the next rounds of the events were held in 2014, 2016, and this year, for which we have witnessed and expanded the progressive and exponential curvature in this area.

Osareh pointed out that the fourth festival of medical plants will be opened at 9:00 a.m. on November 11^th 2018 with a special exhibition, in which 48 topics will be presented and unveiled by the country’s authorities.

The secretary of medicinal plants and traditional medicine sciences and technologies development headquarter affirmed: the official opening ceremony will be held at 10:00 a.m. of the same day, and the exhibition and festival will be initiated after that. This event includes various sections, including exhibition, student festival, health town, and herbartum.

Presenting Five Thousand and 82 Products in the Exhibition Section

According to Osareh, the number of creative and knowledge-based companies attending the exhibition has increased from 40 in 2014 to 170 in 2018.

He explained that the number of products presented in this national festival and exhibition has increased from 800 in 2012 to five thousand and 82 products in its fourth round, which was considered as a sign of progress in this field.

The secretary of medicinal plants and traditional medicine sciences and technologies development headquarter also stated: in 2012, 200 non-knowledge-based companies were presented. This number increased to 350 companies in 2014, reached 450 in 2016 and is now more than 551 in the current round of the event.

Commercialization of Technological Ideas in the Technomart

Pointing out the number of technologies with the ability to be commercialized in this event, he pointed out: a section called the “technomart” will be held in the event that is recognized as the turning point of the Vice-Presidency in mainstreaming of technology commercialization. It is expected that technologies produced by researchers and other elites be turned into wealth and play a role in the economy of the country. This phenomenon can happen in the technomart.

He continued: we hope that similar to the last round, we witness signing various agreements and concluding contracts in the technomart. It is predicted that these processes will be properly followed up. The medicinal plants and traditional medicine sciences and technologies development headquarter follows up this process after the festival in order to reach an effective and mainstreaming point.

Selection of 170 Projects from Thousands of Projects Delivered in the Student Section

According to Osareh, the “student festival” has been added to this national event since two years ago. In this regard, he expressed: establishment of this section in 2016 was greatly welcomed nationwide. Research centers, the education department, schools and other organizations have sent various projects to this section of the festival, which has determined the high potential of students in this field.

Health Town, a Place for Remaining Healthy

Introducing the Iranian medicine as the medical School of Iran, Osareh mentioned: given the fact that in recent years, negative approaches have been created in modern medicine, a category called the identification of health schools in various cultures of the world has been considered.

He added: Iran has been dealing with this subject in a completely scientific way, and the traditional medicine schools have flourished to offer specialized courses in the field of traditional medicine. This approach has led to the establishment of health towns that provide traditional medicine services to people through determined tariffs.

Familiarization with Live Plants in Herbartum

According to Osareh, another part of the fourth national exhibition and festival of medical herbs, natural products and Iranian medicine (traditional), which is similar to the two previous rounds, was herbartum. In this respect, he continued: this part of the exhibition is the museum of live plants. Some people are eager to learn more about plants. Therefore, since the third round in a limited form and since the fourth round in a comprehensive form, we have showcased live plants in the herbartum section.

The Path of Valuating Medical Plants Will Be Paved by Booming of Accelerators

Esmaeil Ghaderifar, head of the strategic technologies development center, expressed on another part of the meeting: the creative companies and startups will be supported in the form of a new support program of the Vice-Presidency. Since the booming of these businesses is considered in all technological fields, the development of specialized accelerators in the various fields of strategic technology such as the digital health of medicinal plants, water, new environmental technologies and waste management are on the agenda. The development of specialized accelerators in the various fields of strategic technology such as the digital health of medicinal plants, water, new environmental technologies and waste management are on the agenda.

The fourth national festival and exhibition of medical plants, natural products and Iranian medicine (traditional) will be held November 11^th-14^th 2018 in Musala of Tehran by the efforts of the medicinal plants and traditional medicine sciences and technologies development headquarter.