The Medical Tourism AssociationTM (MTA) and The Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Lithuania have signed an agreement to promote and develop medical tourism in the Baltic nation. The memo detailing the newly cooperative relationship states that the two parties have agreed as follows:
- The Parties shall take all steps necessary to promote and develop medical tourist flows.
- The Parties shall encourage the establishment of relations between tourism management institutions, tourism and medical tourism associations and organizations, approved destination country tour operators, hotel networks, spas as well as shall provide assistance to other types of activities aiming to increase medical tourist flows.
- Having co-ordinated their interests the Parties shall promote the exchange of information concerning laws and regulations applicable to the field of medical tourism, statistical information, educational programs on documentation and professional training of staff, scientific research, certification in the field of medical tourism development.
- The Parties shall facilitate, on mutual basis, the exchange of experts in the field of medical tourism aiming to get acquainted with medical tourism infrastructure, models and structures necessary for medical tourism.
- By means of support each Party shall encourage study visits of medical tourism experts.
- The Parties shall grant special attention to co-operation in the field of medical tourism as well as to the exchange of information aiming to draw up investment projects of common interest and to implement them by establishing joint ventures. In addition, they shall encourage technical assistance to be provided to the medical tourism stakeholders, such as clinics, spas, hotels, catering and entertainment industry.
- The Parties shall assist in organizing meetings with medical tourism associations, experts and business people.
Vice-Minister of the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Lithuania, Daumantas Lapinskas, wrote to MTA President Renée-Marie Stephano after having met at the 4th World Medical Tourism & Global Healthcare Congress about the partnership:
“I believe that the Memorandum between the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Lithuania and the Medical Tourism AssociationTM […] on co-operations in the field of medical tourism will stimulate the development of our future co-operations.”
Currently, the Association of the Lithuanian Health Care Providers and the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Lithuania are in talks of planning a conference in the first quarter of 2012 about the clusters in medical tourism. Lapinskas has formally invited President Renée-Marie Stephano to act as the event’s main speaker and present her ideas about the global clusterization process.
In addition to wanting to contribute a “better understanding on how MTA works and what possibilities might be offered by [the] membership,” Lapinskas said that Lithuania is keeping pace in getting benefits from this emerging market and that the agreement gives a high potential to attract a larger audience of medical tourists to the country.
